


We're All Different Now

by scottxlogan



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-01
Updated: 2013-09-01
Packaged: 2017-12-25 07:44:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/950510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scottxlogan/pseuds/scottxlogan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a mysterious woman from the future enlists Logan's help to change the past by saving Charles Xavier's life, Logan finds himself back in time at a pivotal place in time. With his mission to save Charles in mind Logan finds himself distracted by his feelings for Scott Summers, a man he loved and lost years before Logan was given a second chance to make things right. Armed with the mission to change only the fate of Charles and nothing else, Logan is torn between doing what was asked of him and following his heart to find a way to make things right with the one man he'd been forced to face a lifetime without the first time around. Will the second time around prove to be a means of repairing the damage that was done or will Scott and Logan's ill-fated romance repeat the same pattern with disastrous consequences?</p>
            </blockquote>





	We're All Different Now

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for the [X-Men Reverse Bang Challenge Round Two](http://xmenreversebang.livejournal.com/) where I was paired off with the talented [fullmoon02](http://fullmoon02.livejournal.com/). Her incredible artwork inspired this story, so please check out her gorgeous artwork [here](http://fullmoon02.livejournal.com/81030.html). Thanks again to everyone who put together the X-Men Reverse Bang. This was a lot of fun and one of the best experiences ever to work with!

Logan staggered out of the noisy bar feeling a buzz carry over him after the night he’d spent drinking his problems away. He knew that with his healing factor in the long run it wouldn’t make much of a difference how much he drank, but being in the bar had provided him much needed time away from the hotel room he’d spent the last week of his life in. To his left a dog howled and he could see two men from the bar engaged in a fight ready to tear one another to pieces. To his right he noticed a prostitute propositioning another drunken, willing bar patron. Logan watched the man wrap his arm around the woman’s waist to guide her back to his truck parked across the darkened lot and he groaned.

“Some things never change,” he mouthed a shake of his head and an alcohol laced snarl. 

Once again he’d taken to life on the road tucked away from the rest of the world after he’d learned the school was no more. In his absence the others had separated moving on to lives beyond the dream that Charles Xavier had for their kind. Responsibility be damned now that he pushed the key into lock on the chipped door leading to the room he’d made his temporary home. Staggering inside he tossed the keys across the room not really caring where they landed when he made his way over to the bed. Groaning he fell face forward into the dirty blankets bound and determined to put the day behind him once and for all. Closing his eyes he said a few choice curse words to himself before finally passing out to dream about a world that would never be with a life he could never have again.

“Are you sure he’s still alive?” a female voice questioned causing Logan to groan hours later.

Logan twisted on his sheets feeling a damp press in against his cheek. There was a poke to his ribs and he jolted onto his side bouncing off of the bed with a gasp and a snarl. 

“He’s fine,” a second female voice noted as Logan attempted to focus through the darkness. He looked around the room only to discover he was no longer alone with his dreams of the life he’d put behind him. 

Scowling he could smell danger in the air around him. He could sense it when he’d realized that the poke he’d felt at his side had been made by the butt of the gun that the man to his left was holding over his arm. It was aimed directly at it Logan while the man glared down at him with a stoic snarl carrying over his grimaced lips. Immediately sensing a threat Logan’s claws unsheathed as unexpected light blinded him, filtering into his room with an aching force. His eyes narrowed in on the three strangers dressed in black before him when he lunged forward instinctively prepared to attack the intruders. However, before he could make his mark, his movements were suddenly brought to a halt when he found himself suspended in the air mid-lunge.

“He’s a bit more primitive than you’d explained,” the first female voice announced.

Logan struggled to twist against the invisible force holding him back. He attempted to open his mouth to speak, to say anything to warn them that they’d picked the wrong room when his eyes caught movement in front of him.

“Leave us,” the slender auburn haired woman standing before Logan ordered keeping her eyes focused on Logan. Her lips were pinched together in a scowl, her green eyes narrowing in on him when she raised her hand up in the air to silence the others as she spoke up again. 

“But…” the man at her side frowned clearly uneasy with her decision when she shot him a glare that Wolverine himself had been grateful he hadn’t been the recipient of.

“I can handle this,” she mouthed when Logan felt his claws out at his side, but found he was helpless to do anything with them, “Now go!”

“Rachel, are you sure that…?” the woman at her side began when she simply nodded.

“This is him,” Rachel explained focusing on Logan once again, “He and I need to speak to one another alone.”

“Fine,” the man grudgingly replied, “but if you need us, we’ll be right outside.”

“I won’t need you,” Rachel stated plainly returning to silence when her companions exited Logan’s hotel room. Once she and Logan were alone her face shifted again, offering up a silent warning in her posture, “Logan, I realize that you probably have quite a few questions running through your head right now, but for me to answer them you’re going to have to realize that I’m not here to harm you. I know you have a tendency to slash before listening to things under these circumstances, but I’m going to need you to do just that. You’re going to need to trust me.”

“Trust you?” Logan managed to spit out much to his surprise when he’d realized his speech had somehow returned to him.

“That’s right,” she simply nodded, “We’re friends.”

“Friends,” Logan chortled with a thick air of sarcasm. His body was still immobilized high above his bed, but Rachel seemed unaffected by the situation, “Friends don’t break into a friend’s hotel room in the middle of the night and…”

“I had no choice,” Rachel explained drawing in a breath when Logan felt his limbs loosen up. A moment later he fell face forward buried nose deep in the dirty cigarette burned carpet with her standing on the opposite side of the bed. He raised his chin up to discover her eyeing him expectantly, “Believe me I wouldn’t have taken such measures if it wasn’t a necessity. I realize that patience and understanding are not your strong suit.”

“If you realize that, then you’ll also see that I’m not about to be blindsided by…” Logan snarled pushing himself up onto his knees to glare at her.

“You don’t have a choice Logan. You’re going to listen to what I have to say and that’s all there is to it. I don’t care how angry you are that I didn’t call first. Everything else is irrelevant right now,” she explained impatiently.

“Look lady,” he spoke up when he bounced onto his feet again. The snarl returned to his features, his lips puffing out with an exaggerated huff when he took a small step forward only to feel himself immobilized again.

“Logan, if you’re going to be insistent upon fighting me, then this isn’t going to work,” she sighed moving across the room to look at his meager surroundings. She eased her black glove covered fingers over the top of the dusty table Logan had dumped most of his trash on over the last week he’d been locked up in his room. Her nose wrinkled disapprovingly when she turned around to face him once again, “I realize that my methods are a bit unorthodox, but you are our only hope.”

“For what?” Logan eyed her impatiently.

“The future,” she gave him a long once over, “Even in your sorry state you’re all that we have right now.”

“Is that right?” Logan questioned with skepticism in his tone when he found himself seated on the bed against his own free will. His hands were centered in on his lap when Rachel simply nodded in accordance to his question.

“It’s my understanding that you aren’t much for pleasantries in this time, so I’ll get straight to the point,” she explained pacing around the room. With a sigh she pushed her right hand up through her short, razor-cut red hair before facing him again, “Our future is hanging by a thread and you’re the only one that can make things right again. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t our only hope.”

“Listen lady,” Logan snarled back at her, “I don’t know what you’re on right now, but…”

“Rachel,” she cut him off abruptly, “My name is Rachel.”

“I don’t care what your name is,” Logan answered abrasively, “Right now I just want you and your little soldier friends to get the hell out of my hotel room. I don’t care where you go from here, but I want you gone!”

“I don’t really care what you want. Right now we can’t afford the luxury of appeasing you,” she moved in closer to him, “Not when our future is on the line.”

“Future?” Logan repeated giving her another long once over. Although he couldn’t place it there was something about her that seemed familiar, that felt as if he’d crossed paths with her before, yet he’d known full well he’d never laid eyes on her before that moment in time. It was clear from her posture that she’d meant to convey an air of authority, but there was also something behind her eyes that felt guarded, perhaps even distanced in the moment when she seemed to be scrutinizing him.

“You can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed the changes around here taking place,” she continued to explain with a frown, “You must’ve seen the way that the world has suddenly taken another turn towards eradicating our kind.”

“Our kind,” Logan paused thinking about what she’d said to him, “You’re a mutant.”

“Wow, you’re sharp. I figured we’d covered as much when my friends and I first came in here,” she couldn’t help, but roll her eyes at him. She moved in closer to him with pinched lips and a shake of her head, “As much as I’d like to spend the next few days explaining things to you, I’m afraid you’re going to have to settle for an abridged version. We don’t have time for anything else.”

“What the…?” Logan questioned when he found himself surrounded by wreckage far from his hotel room. He looked up to the blackened sky seeing that overhead clouds were dark and foreboding threatening to tear the world apart from within. There were explosions all around him accompanied by thick, suffocating fires lighting up the street. Through the chaos people were screaming all around him caught up in pain and suffering. The end of days was near when Logan attempted to make sense of what surrounded him on the street. Turning around he sought out his hotel room, looking for the woman who had pulled him from his slumber, but she’d vanished almost as soon as she’d appeared. There was another explosion to his left when Logan looked up to discover a giant Sentinel tearing into the building before him. He could hear voices inside, could smell the fear all around him when children cried in the distance.

“The world is changing Logan,” he could hear Rachel’s voice upon him, “This is what will become of our future if you won’t help us. We need you.”

“What is this?” Logan questioned when he suddenly found himself perched on top of a building watching the robotic monsters tearing the world around him to pieces. With each passing moment life as he’d once known it was fading out, dying away into the rubble in a world where technology was king. Sentinels were all around him, seeking out humans and mutants alike in the name of world domination.

“Hell on Earth,” Rachel explained stepping in beside him. She placed her hand on his shoulder in a bold movement, “This is my world and if we don’t work on changing things, then this will be yours as well.”

“Who are you?” Logan inquired turning to face the woman at his side once again.

“I’m someone who was sent here to stop you from experiencing the same mistakes that my people have,” Rachel informed him with abrasiveness in her tone. As Logan looked at her, he could see something familiar in her eyes, something in her pinched scowl and perfectly sculpted cheekbones that had reminded him of another he’d once been close to, “My people are suffering just as yours will if you don’t agree to help me Logan.”

“Help you how?” Logan questioned when one of the sentinels approached them preparing to launch an attack on him only unlike the Danger Room drills he’d done years ago they were real and menacing. Their presence lingered upon him, threatening to tear him apart when he stood in front of Rachel protectively. Extending his claws he snarled at the wall of machine before him ready to launch an attack of his own when Rachel squeezed at his shoulder.

“I need you to go back to the school that Charles Xavier built,” Rachel replied with a neutral tone when she pulled Logan with her away from the building. 

In an instant they were back in his hotel room again away from the post-apocalyptic glimpse of the world she had provided him with. The sudden movement caused his head to spin when he fought to contain the images that had consumed him. His mind raced with the sights and sounds he’d witnessed from her world when he remained seated on the bed.

“What was that?” Logan questioned blinking back at the stimulus that still ate away at his core, “What was that place?”

“It’s my future Logan,” she informed him with a sigh, “It’s a world where life as we know it will cease to exist. We’ve been fighting to hold onto it, but we’re weakened. Our numbers are dwindling and all hope is starting to be lost. You’re our only hope. You need to go back to the school and…”

“The school is no more,” Logan frowned back at her when he thought to the fate the school had in his absence, “It ceased to be years ago. After Charles died there was a fire and the students relocated. Storm tried, but it was just too much of a burden and…”

“I know of the school’s ending,” she interrupted with agitation carrying over her tone, “but that doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to go back there.”

“The last time I checked it was in ashes Rachel,” Logan frowned back at her, “It’s a dark place where anything that once resembled Charles Xavier’s dream is lost and…”

“For where you are at now yes, it is that way, but it’s not where you’re headed,” she stated smoothly when Logan was able to pull his body off of the bed. He approached her watching as she moved to the table again. On top of it was a box where he’d kept his old photographs to serve as a reminder of the life he’d once had. She pulled open the top and extracted the photo he’d kept near the top of the pile.

“Don’t touch that!” Logan warned when her gloved index finger pushed over the image of Scott he’d secretly taken with him when he’d left the school behind, “That’s…”

“…personal?” she finished carefully setting the photo back in its place. Her fingers twisted around in the box a bit further when Logan watched her withdraw the dog tags he’d kept buried inside of the bottom of the box, “So is this Logan. Lives are at risk here and if you won’t help me, then you’ll be responsible for their damnation…”

“Why me?” he inquired.

“Because you’re a soldier Logan,” she explained curling her fingers around the dog tags, “Because I know when it gets down to it you’re the one person willing to do what needs to be done no questions asked.”

“I’m not that man anymore,” Logan frowned moving up to approach her. He reached out for his dog tags, pulling them from her hand and placing him back into the box.

“You only think you aren’t, but I know he’s still in there,” she insisted when he reached for the lid of the box to close it.

“No, he’s not,” Logan argued.

“Yes,” she reached out to touch his wrist in a firm grip, “he is. If you would stop lying to yourself long enough to realize that he’s still very much a part of you, then you’ll see that you can be our salvation.”

“What you’re looking for kid ain’t here,” Logan stubbornly shook his head, “I’ve never been that man.”

“Yes, you have,” she released him with a frown, “I know he’s there inside of you Logan.”

“I don’t know who told you that, but you were misinformed,” Logan collected his box in his fingers to pull it out of her reach. He lifted it to his chest and scowled at her.

“You’re a man of honor,” she asserted when he turned his back to her, “That much I know. I’m also aware that you won’t turn away a worthy cause when it’s right in front of you.”

“Again, you’re looking for someone else. I’m not the man who…” Logan attempted to put her off when she spoke up again.

“…who stopped Magneto from trying to destroy the human race? Who sacrificed him own personal happiness to save the world from the destruction of The Phoenix?”

“What?” Logan questioned turning around to face her once again, “What did you just say?”

“I know that it killed you to destroy Jean, but you had no choice,” Rachel blurted out causing the blood to stop cold in his veins.

“How do you know about that?” Logan frowned back at her.

“I know a lot of things about you Logan,” she continued with a newfound determination in her voice, “I know of the life you put behind you and the nightmares that consume your life even now.”

“Look, I don’t know who the hell you are,” Logan replied watching as her face twisted with concern.

“I know you don’t Logan, but I promise I will make it all clear,” she approached him with a sudden seriousness in her voice, “Things aren’t as they should be. In fact, things are far from what they were always meant to be. Deep down you must realize that. You must’ve felt it yourself.”

“Kid, I’ve been in this world long enough to see that’s the way life works. It isn’t fair and you’re forced to live with difficult decisions along the way,” Logan sighed when he realized she was suddenly overtaken with an expression he’d recognized in himself. It was filled with sadness and regret when she looked around his lonely hotel room.

“When I was a child I’d always believe that I understood that, but I never really understood the meaning until I was faced with the truth behind what had become of my family…” she confessed poignantly.

“Your family?” Logan half questioned.

She nodded, “My family was murdered years ago. They were taken from me by unnatural forces conspiring against our kind. They were like us. They were unnecessary sacrifices brought upon by a wrinkle in time.”

“A wrinkle…” Logan gave her another long, curious look, “Look kid, I’m sorry about your family, but…”

“But nothing,” she shook her head firmly, “This is about you helping me Logan. I need you to do this.”

“Again, what you’re even suggesting is preposterous,” Logan decided with an outward groan, “What you showed me…hell, even what you’re saying sounds preposterous. On second thought, what have you been drinking? Or better yet did you slip me something back at the bar earlier or…?”

“Logan, I know this is hard to believe, but I really am from the future,” she blurted out as if it was the most natural thing, “As you’ve seen where I’m from the world is full of chaos and destruction brought on by one pivotal moment in time where mankind decided that we should no longer exist in this world. One mistake changed everything and it’s up to you to see to it that my world never becomes yours.”

“And just how do you propose I go about doing that?” Logan questioned.

“It’s simple. I need you to go back to do the one thing that no one else in this world is capable of,” she answered with a simple shrug of her shoulders.

“And what might that be?” he frowned back at her.

“I need you to save Charles Xavier,” she answered standing up taller when her green eyes penetrated his once again, “and before you tell me that isn’t a possibility there are things that I’m going to need to make you understand--things that once I share them with you won’t ever be able to be taken back.”

\-----------

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Logan noted biting down on the cigar that he’d taken between his lips when he finished listening to Rachel’s tale of the future she’d given him a glimpse of. He’d witnessed her words first hand when she spoke of her powers as a telepath and time traveler doing what she could to change the future that had become her world. She’d informed him that she and the others had struggled to pinpoint the moment where their world was condemned to damnation and after a long search they’d come to realize it had all began with the death of Charles Xavier.

“I know the world sucks, but what you’re suggesting is…” Logan opened his mouth to protest for the tenth time since she’d filled his head up with her wild stories.

“…an impossibility for others, but not for you,” she moved in closer to him, “With your healing factor and your knowledge of everything I’ve shared with you, I know that you can endure this Logan. You can go back and do what’s required of you before this situation spirals out of control. If I can send you back to the mansion before all hell broke loose…”

“What you’re suggesting is ridiculous. It’s not something that exists in this world and…” Logan argued once again.

“It does for me,” Rachel added with a newfound determination in her voice, “Logan, my powers have granted me special gifts. These gifts allow me the ability to travel to places others have never been. It’s given me the opportunity to see things that no one else has. I know things…I feel things…”

“If you’re able to go all Back To The Future,” he spoke up in a mocking tone, “then why do you need me?”

“Because my arrival in that time would be,” she paused contemplating her words, “complicated. I don’t exist as of that point in time…at least not in the capacity where I’ll be able to be any good to the world around me. You see I can transport people to another version of themselves. That seems to work best and…”

“What do you mean another version?” Logan questioned when her lips curved downward in yet another frustrated scowl.

“I can send you back into yourself Logan,” she informed him firmly, “I can bring you into that time where you are able to change things without people realizing that you’re an outsider. You can easily blend in and do what’s needed before everything heads down a path it wasn’t meant for.”

“Believe me kid if I could save Chuck I would, but I can’t,” Logan admitted painfully, “It can’t be done.”

“Not now, but then it’s a possibility,” she appealed to him once again, “When I send you back to that time you’ll be able to take the memory of what I’ve shared with you and…”

“It can’t be done,” Logan argued with her, “There were forces beyond my control that…”

“You can stop them. I know you can,” Rachel half pleaded with him, “You can go back and change things. You can make them right and…”

“Listen kid I know that life is hard sometimes. I feel for you with what you went through with your parents. I know that can change a person, but at the same time,” Logan hesitated when he could sense desperation in Rachel’s voice, “we can’t alter our histories. It’s not something we can just step into and…”

“If we don’t try Logan, then everyone will die,” Rachel informed him point blank, “Not only will our kind live in fear of extinction, but humans will as well. You saw yourself that the machines will take over making us all targets or worse…slaves. Any inkling of freedom will be ripped away from us until we’re left with nothing…even you.”

“Me?” Logan replied watching her bite down on her lower lip and nod.

“You’re the one who convinced me to try to reach you here Logan,” she replied with a small nod, “You said it was the only way and you were right…”

“I brought you here? From the future?” Logan watched her nod once more.

“It was your dying request that I seek you out to help me change our fate,” Rachel added with a tearful expression, “In my time you died a solder--a hero to our kind protecting what was left of us and I refuse to let your efforts be in vain. I knew that you would have a hard time believing any of this, but it’s the only way Logan. This is all I could do. It’s what you wanted…”

“I can’t see myself trying to screw up time. Not that I’m saying that’s even possible, but to even suggest that kind of scenario, well, it would have to have consequences associated with it,” Logan tossed back at her.

“Those outweigh the reality that we’re surrounded by in my future,” Rachel insisted firmly, “Doing nothing kills us all and…”

“I wish I could change things for you. Hell, there’s a lot I would do differently if I could, but I can’t,” Logan argued with her, “Granted I have had plenty of regrets in my life, but I’ve accepted that I can’t go back. Life only lets you go forward and…”

“…yet I’m standing here before you asking you to take a leap of faith on the future,” she informed him stubbornly, “You might think I’m crazy, but what if I’m not? What if you can change things?”

“If what you’re saying is true, then where you’re from I’m dead,” Logan pointed out with a small sigh, “I’ve met my maker and…”

“If you go back and change things, then that doesn’t have to be your fate,” Rachel appealed to him once again, “You can go back to the place where everything fell apart. You save Charles and…”

“Chuck’s gone. I watched him explode to pieces with my own two eyes. There’s no way that I could stop it. You have no idea what The Phoenix did to Jean Grey. She was out of control and unable to help herself. Chuck didn’t stand a chance…” he stopped himself when she reached out to hold his hand desperately.

“Logan, I’m begging you. Please,” she paused when a tear slipped past her cheek, “You must help me. You must stop this before the end consumes us all. We can’t afford to leave things as they will. If you do nothing you will die a horrible death in my future.”

“You have no idea how unafraid of that ending I am kid,” Logan divulged thinking about his own bouts of depression in the years that had followed his walking away from the others, “It actually sounds like a welcome reprieve at this point after all I’ve endured.”

“Being burdened with eternity has taken its toll on you Logan, but imagine what comes with knowing that you have no future to face,” Rachel offered up with a desperate sigh, “Logan, if you won’t do this, then my world as I know it has ended. Everything that my parents fought for will have been for nothing. Their legacy will have lost its meaning and…”

“Rachel,” Logan paused watching as tears spilled down her cheeks. 

“My father was a soldier like you. He lived and died for the cause,” Rachel confessed poignantly, “All of my life I’ve been trying to live up to his reputation, to be the kind of person he’d always aspired to be, but through it all I’d felt as if I’d failed him--as if my world ending was a direct result of Charles Xavier’s dream of peace and equality dying out with him,” her lower lip quivered reminding him of the last time he’d found himself touched by feelings of compassion and concern. 

“Hey,” Logan spoke up with a sigh. Reaching out to press his index finger against her cheek, he couldn’t help, but find himself thinking about her proposal. With a small sigh he finally nodded, “I don’t know if I believe what you’re saying to be true, but I’m willing to give it a shot if it’ll get you to stop crying.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” she lifted her chin up at him and smiled. It was a brief, fleeting moment of victory as she pulled herself up on her knees to regain her composure, “I always knew there was a reason why he looked up to you.”

“He?” Logan questioned as she turned her back to him and moved across his hotel room.

“My father,” she answered when she walked over to the hotel room window. She reached for the curtain and gently nudged it aside to take a look at the others who had returned to the SUV they’d arrived in earlier, “He admired you when he was younger. He said his life had never been the same from the day the great Wolverine had walked into his world. You’d held a very special place in his life…as with my mother…she’d told me great things about you.”

“She did?” Logan watched as she glanced over her shoulder at him once again, “I knew your parents?”

She nodded, “Better than anyone I would imagine. It was my understanding that you were the one thing that pulled my father through the most difficult point in his life. There was a time when he found himself faithless and you pulled him through his darkest hour. Without you he would’ve been lost and my mother…, well, let’s just say that in my dreams she’s told me about how you saved the both of them. She said if it hadn’t been for you, then it would have fallen apart years before they’d met their demise. In my dreams she tells me about the sacrifices you made--about the way that you’d protected my father when he most needed you. You saved his life more than you ever realized…”

“Look Rachel, while I’d like to say that I remember the people I’ve crossed paths with in my time there have been a lot of people in my life that…” Logan began apologetically when he found himself drawn to her face again. He breathed thinking about how she felt so familiar and yet…

“Now isn’t about the past,” she cut him off when her face returned to business as usual, “It’s about saving the future.”

“By returning to the past,” Logan noted with a nod, “Speaking of which how do you plan on making this happen? If you can put me through ‘time travel’ so to speak, then how are we going to go about doing this? Is there a Delorean waiting for me outside or…?”

“It’s a little bit more complicated than that, but when you wake up in the morning you’ll understand. You’ll remember my words and your mission when you get there. You’ll have only a few days to accomplish everything while you’re there.”

“And how do you propose I go about doing that?” Logan questioned.

“You experienced it first time once before, so you’ll know what you’ll need to do to keep Charles safe,” Rachel replied simply, “Once you are in his time you can speak to him. You can make him understand why I’ve sent you there and…”

“He’s not going to believe me,” Logan frowned, “Even if I can truly be sent back, then…”

“He won’t have a choice Logan. Once he looks into your mind and sees what I’ve shown you, then I can promise you he’ll know what to do,” Rachel added firmly, “He’ll understand why I sent you there and…”

“I’ll be my old self though, right?” Logan paused pondering what she’d said to him earlier.

She nodded, “Physically yes, but the memories of who you are now will still linger from within. You’ll remember the life that you’ve lead. You’ll still be yourself in essence, but in your body you’ll be…”

“The man I was before,” Logan finished watching her nod again.

“It will feel difficult at first,” Rachel warned biting down on her plump lower lip, “but once you’re there you’ll get a grasp on your mission. You’ll see what you were set out to do.”

“In saving Charles?” he arched a skeptic brow.

She nodded again, “You’ll want to change other things beyond the mission while you’re there, but you can’t Logan. No matter how hard you may want to change the outcome of various situations, you’ll have to refrain from doing so. The only chance that’s possible for the survival of our kind is saving Charles. Everything else…no matter how difficult it might seem cannot be altered.”

“If I’m going back to change the future, then why stop with Chuck?” Logan questioned when her brow creased with apprehension. 

“You must focus on Charles--on helping him survive. Everything else around you will be secondary. You’ll know what is going to happen, but you must let everything else fall as it will. Your objective is Charles and protecting him at all cost. On the day he’s set to die you must see to it that he doesn’t. That’s the one thing you will have to make certain of. You’ll have four days to ensure that he survives before you’ll leave,” she warned him sharply, “No matter what else you encounter on your mission, you must not lose sight of that.”

“Why would I lose sight of it?” Logan questioned simply.

“There will be things…” she paused when her eyes shifted around the room, “situations that might not necessarily feel right for you Logan, but at the end of the day you need to stay focused entirely on Charles. When you get there you must only concentrate on that mission.”

“Hey,” Logan shrugged his shoulders, “I get it. Save Chuck.”

“I mean it Logan,” she warned, “When you awaken you’ll need to focus entirely on that. Four days might feel like an eternity, but it’s not. Your time is important, so you must spend it wisely.”

“Got it,” Logan waved his hand around in the air, “Four days to save Chuck. Sure.”

“You must make the most of your time,” she urged him on again, “It’s vital…”

“…to the cause. Yeah I get it,” Logan sighed, “I’ll do what I can to work on it.”

“You’ll need to make it happen. I’ve set the wheels in motion for your return,” she explained pushing a hand up through her auburn colored hair, “You’ll be able to blend once you’ve adjusted to being back…”

“How will I be going back?” Logan inquired thinking about the proposal she’d laid out on him.

“Everything will make sense when you are back with the others,” Rachel promised cryptically when Logan felt a heaviness overtaking his eyelids. 

Logan staggered from his positioning on the bed feeling himself suddenly filled with images from Rachel’s future. They came to him like lightening quick snapshots each one revealing to him things that Rachel and her friends hoped would never come to fruition. With each vision he felt her words inside of his head guiding him to the mission she’d given him. Each word reminded him of the task he was given, of the past he would have to erase in order to save them all from a lifetime of misery and suffering and…

“Sleep now Logan,” Rachel’s words pressed upon him when Logan closed his eyes. Without a second thought he fell back onto the mattress bound and determined to find a way to stay focused on his conversation with the beautiful stranger with the poignant eyes and the dangerously sculpted cheekbones. Her future was the source of her fear, but his past was a torture he hadn’t anticipating having to relive over again at any cost.

\---------

“Please no,” a voice murmured when Logan twisted on the mattress attempting to find the right positioning to settle the uncharacteristic knot in his shoulders. He suspected it was the result of a long night of wild dreams when a groan carried over his lips. Thinking of the beautiful stranger that had entered into his hotel room Logan found his mind had run rampant with images of chaos and destruction leading him to question his healing factor. He’d remembered the alcohol he’d consumed right before he’d passed out and found himself surrounded by a time he was certain hadn’t existed. Everything about the night he’d put behind him felt like a haze, like a horrible nightmare played out in his head when he felt the warmth of a slender body beside his. 

“Please…” a breathless whisper surrounded him when Logan opened his eyes. He could feel the traces of sunlight around him creeping in from the far left of the room. He attempted to resituate on the bed and close his eyes again when warmth spilled over his chest. Immediately his eyes snapped open again causing him to stiffen with the distinct press of a head over the center of his chest. Instinctively his arm curled around the slender waist of the person beside him when Logan found himself overtaken with familiarity in their intoxicating scent.

“Scott,” Logan mouthed when he tipped his head to the side to discover the sleeping man in his arms. 

Immediately he was taken back to the past, to a place he was certain he’d never be again as Scott Summers was curled up into him sleeping through the night for the first time since he’d been plagued by the loss of Jean. Now as Logan’s arm coiled tighter around his body, Logan couldn’t help, but revel in the sensory overload brought on by the man beside him. It was something he’d convinced himself he could live without, but with the arousing scent of the repressed leader of the X-Men beside him Logan couldn’t help, but wonder if he’d died and gone to heaven in reliving one of the memories he’d often dreamt about.

Bringing his fingertips over the back of Scott’s head, Logan couldn’t help, but tease the tousled dark locks near the back of Scott’s neck. His thumb brushed over Scott’s skin causing goose bumps over his flesh to form much as they had every time Logan had touched him. Even in his slumber Scott was responsive to him, welcoming to the gentle massage of Logan’s fingers against his skin. It caused him to curl in closer, to squeeze at Logan’s chest when Scott’s leg draped in between Logan’s thighs. Warmth coiled out over Logan’s body enveloping him in sensation when his hand dropped down over Scott’s hip protectively.

“Mmmm…” Scott murmured shifting on the blankets. Logan felt his palm flatten out across the center of Logan’s chest when realization carried over Scott with a yawn, “what time is it?”

“Early,” Logan mouthed instinctively. He thought of the many times in his dreams when he’d replayed this morning in his mind knowing that it had been the beginning a turning point for him and Scott with one another.

“How early?” Scott questioned seemingly lost in a moment of laziness in Logan’s arms. His leg twisted, grinding in further between Logan’s muscled thighs to make room for himself in his tight embrace. His damp white t-shirt clung to his body reminding Logan of the nightmares that Scott still suffered from in his resting. Even in sleep he had been haunted by demons, consumed by the remorse he’d felt over the love he’d lost in his life with Jean.

“Just rest Slim,” Logan murmured curling his fingers over Scott’s hip to guide Scott in closer to him. Unlike the other nights they’d shared together up until that point Scott hadn’t resisted. He readily snuggled into Logan, letting his guard down completely when another sigh spilled from his lips. Smiling Logan kissed the top of Scott’s head hoping to soothe Scott in those moments Logan had convinced himself were long gone. The gesture caused a small, satisfied sound to spill from Scott’s full, lush lips, but just as soon as Logan had found himself savoring the sound, it had expired. The thrill of the sensation was short-lived when Scott stiffened in Logan’s arms.

“Logan,” Scott gasped pulling away from Logan’s embrace as if he’d been burned. Behind his closed eyelids was the pale face of the horrified man who’d come to realize that he’d spent yet another night in his one-time rival’s bed. It was that expression that Logan had grown to hate in their time together. Hell, it was something he’d practically burned out of his memory until Logan had thought of how Rachel had promised to take him back to the life he’d known.

“Scott,” Logan breathed attempting to reach out for Scott again only to be met by the same cold retreat.

“Don’t,” Scott half pleaded when Logan’s fingers stretched out closer to Scott’s cheekbone. The movement in itself felt familiar to Logan, something that he hadn’t embraced for years, yet with Scott beside him he had to prove to himself that he hadn’t been imagining it. Against Scott’s wishes he continued to touch the side of Scott’s face.

“Please,” Scott begged of him when Logan found himself remembering the process of spending the nights together with Scott initially sobbing over his lost lover, “Don’t complicate this.”

“It’s not about complications Scott,” Logan breathed watching Scott’s face twist with confusion. 

It was enough to cause a pang in Logan’s chest remembering the things that he’d fought to repress in his time away from the mansion. However, immersed in the reality Rachel had sent him to, Logan could recall quite well the way in which Scott had come to him, broken and miserable until exhaustion had overtaken him. It had been one of the more vulnerable moments for Scott that first night he’d opened up to Logan about how he couldn’t sleep in his room any longer without Jean. Scott had spoken about her memory and the fears he’d carried with him over losing her. Scott was haunted by it all feeling as if he’d failed her, as if life as he’d known it was over when misery consumed him. Each night over the last six months it had gone from grief shifting into a pattern, but ultimately even in his loathing Scott had been too torn up to spend another night alone in the bedroom he’d once shared with Jean. 

When Scott remained still Logan curled his arm around Scott again hoping to convey what he’d been feeling in the moment. As had happened in Logan’s memory through the years, he felt the gradual push Scott made when he contemplated letting go of Logan, but like before Logan simply refused to ease up on the way he’d kept Scott close to him. Instead of fighting it Logan reopened his eyes reaching out to touch the perfectly sculpted cheekbone that he’d kissed the night before in an effort to ease the tears that Scott had been too afraid to share with the others. Somewhere in the night Logan had removed Scott’s glasses trailing a path over his smooth skin from his forehead to the tip of his nose, leading around to those full, lush lips that Logan had found himself coveting time and time again. He could readily recall Scott’s apprehension at the first taste, but what had followed had grown from misery to longing, from desperation to desire when it became clear that neither man was seeking out the other for grieving alone any longer. That thought had been overwhelming when Logan had rolled onto his back allowing Scott to climb over him to lavish him with kiss after eager kiss.

Darkness had transformed into heat and desire with Logan and Scott groping one another, kissing and touching like sex starved teenagers without crossing the line into that one barrier that Logan was certain Scott had been too afraid to cross again without Jean. Instead Logan had settled for heavy kissing and even heavier petting in an attempt to get a feel for Scott Summers in the ways he’d longed to for more time than he’d cared to admit. It felt good. Better than good even as Logan remembered that wild tongue accompanied by Scott’s eager lips swelling from their kisses. It had been a turn on, something Logan wasn’t likely to forget when Scott had breathlessly asked for Logan to slow down. He’d been confused, lost inside some internal conflict of right and wrong, uncertain that he should be immersing himself in the idea of passion with someone other than Jean. Logan had sensed it early on, but he’d refused to allow Scott an escape. Making love hadn’t been on the agenda, but Scott leaving hadn’t been either. Instead Logan opted to keep Scott close when the night had rolled into morning.

“I should get going,” Scott gulped down harder when Logan’s fingers eased over the curve of his lean, muscular spine.

“You don’t have to leave Scott,” Logan explained when Scott’s resistance was up again. He’d subtly pushed his way over to the far end of Logan’s bed reaching out for the glasses that had been discarded the previous evening in their kissing.

“Yes, I do,” Scott answered nervously, “Last night was a mistake. I shouldn’t have…”

“What?” Logan questioned twisting on his side to snake his fingers around Scott’s elbow, “Allowed me to kiss you?”

“I shouldn’t have stayed in here with you,” Scott gulped down so hard that his throat bounced, “I knew better than to…”

“It was just kissing Scott,” Logan propped himself up on his elbow.

“It was more than kissing. We both know that,” Scott whispered when embarrassment overtook him, “Even if we didn’t make love I’ve…I’ve never been like that before especially not with anyone aside from Jean.”

“It’s alright Scott. I realize that which is why I tried to take it slow when you asked me to cool things down,” Logan paused sensing the guilt that surrounded Scott, “Jean wouldn’t blame you for…”

“I shouldn’t have done it Logan. I know better than to act like that,” Scott divulged with a tiny tremble overtaking him, “I wasn’t thinking and…”

“You were thinking Scott,” Logan couldn’t help, but frown at the regret he’d forgotten Scott had felt about the morning Logan had remembered so fondly, “We’ve both been thinking about it for a while Scott. Last night we just stopped fighting what was happening between us and…”

“It was a mistake,” Scott insisted sliding his arm out across the top of the nightstand. His fingers shakily pressed over the top of the wood until he’d located his glasses. Saying nothing he’d secured them over his face. He let out a small coughing sound before springing up off of the bed as if he’d been burned by Logan’s touch moments earlier, “I have to go.”

“Scott…” Logan called out to him when Scott had pushed his way out of Logan’s bedroom without so much as a second thought. The door behind him closed quiet enough so that the others wouldn’t realize where Scott had been when Logan fell back onto the blankets with a groan, “Damn it!”

Kicking his legs out over the side of the bed Logan closed his eyes and thought to the mission Rachel had set him on. In the back of his mind he could remember her words, could see the future she’d given him a glimpse of, but as with everything that had happened the night before it had felt hazy. Everything about the misery he’d consumed himself with was replaced by the sting of Scott’s retreat. It was always one that haunted him about the morning they’d shared, but up until now he’d forgotten it in favor of savoring the other moments that had followed. Those suddenly consumed him, filling his mind with what he was still to face in knowing that those all too brief sensations he’d experienced with Scott Summers were still around the corner as the product of a future Scott was yet to face. Remembering that Logan twisted his bare feet restlessly onto the carpeting in knowing that he was back in the place where everything had begun and ended all at once.

_“You’ll want to change other things beyond the mission, but you can’t,”_ he could hear her Rachel’s voice in his mind when he let out a long groan. He stretched his arm, reaching out behind his neck to rub at the tight flesh. His muscles were stiff, sore in their own right that felt reflective of the emotional whiplash Scott had given him in his retreat. The night before Scott had been eager, ready to expand upon their growing attraction, but now as Logan found himself surrounded by what was a part of his past, he knew that it was going to get harder before brief bliss would follow.

Looking around the room he realized that he was still in his bedroom at the mansion, tucked away in the time of his life when everything was up in the air. Surveying the room he couldn’t help, but recall the way that things were when he’d been here before experiencing it the first time. To the right were his discarded boots tossed on top of his dirty jeans. The white t-shirt he’d been wearing the night before was tossed across the room on the adjacent dresser beside the window. His eyes followed the path to where other pieces of clothing were scattered, each one serving as a source of annoyance to Scott during the countless encounters they’d spent together in this very room. It was silent amusement for Logan in knowing he could still agitate Scott with his sloppiness even in his misery, but eventually Scott had simply given up on lecturing Logan on his personal hygiene habits. Instead he’d simply ignored those parts of Logan that left him unsettled in favor of looking at the things that he’d enjoyed. In essence…

“…he stopped running away,” Logan concluded knowing that this had been a point in his life when he’d first come upon clarity. He’d learned to love and feel something more than the emptiness of his own existence. With Scott in his life things had come full circle for him in ways he hadn’t imagined or appreciated until he’d come to learn that Scott was taken from his life. It was in losing Scott that Logan had learned what mattered most in his world. Uneasy with the thought his eyes snapped open again reminding him of what he’d experienced the first time around.

“Son of a bitch,” Logan gasped pushing himself out of bed to walk over to the mirror. He reached out for it realizing that Rachel had been telling the truth. He was back. Somehow her promises rang true when he’d found himself in the very room where he and Scott had first come to depend on one another.

“Scott,” Logan spoke his name when Logan’s eyes immediately returned to the blankets. There was a crease on the side where Scott had been laying, outlining his form when Logan felt another thought overtake him, “Scott!”

Remembering how long it had been since he’d seen the man who had haunted his dreams Logan couldn’t help, but rush forward preparing to go off after Scott. He needed to speak to him again, to find a way to talk to him about the things he hadn’t said when they’d waken up together. Every night he’d remembered that morning it was his inability to say the words that had been a regret. In those moments that followed him allowing Scott to walk away, he’d found himself wishing like hell he had said something differently, but instead he’d hidden from his feelings. He’d played the role of the rebel in denying just how much he’d longed for Scott to return to his bed, to his arms, to the things that even later he hadn’t been able to say to Scott to comfort him in the ways he’d needed. The first time around Logan had simply resigned himself to the idea that he would be able to talk to Scott later when things had been less complicated.

“Which was a mistake,” Logan realized moving over to the door and opening it only to discover Marie standing on the other side with a crease in her brow and tears in her eyes.

“Do you have a minute Logan?” she questioned with a small sniffle.

“Actually I was just about to…” Logan looked over her shoulder to the direction he was certain Scott had set off in.

“Logan, I didn’t know who else to talk to. Bobby and I got into a huge fight and…” Marie’s words were lost on Logan when he felt her step forward. Her gloved hands wrapped around his body when she buried her head in his chest ultimately reminding him how things had played out with him abruptly counseling her on her love life. She was damn near inconsolable when Logan had been reluctantly nominated to be the one to attempt at giving her his misguided advice with overly dismissive words in an attempt to halfheartedly alleviate her somewhat validated concerns. At the time he hadn’t seen it as anything more than a youthful overreaction, but in knowing what he had, he found himself wondering if perhaps he should choose another means of the words he’d provided Marie.

_“Don’t forget your mission Logan!”_ he could almost hear Rachel’s voice in the back of his mind, encouraging him to go down the same path he had been on the first time around, but with Marie beside him squeezing him tighter than before he couldn’t help, but return the embrace.

“I missed you. It’s good to see you again kid,” Logan whispered when she stopped crying long enough to raise her chin up to give him a sideways glance.

“Missed me?” she repeated with a sniffle, “You saw me last night at dinner right before Bobby and I got into a fight and…”

“You’ll be able to work it out,” Logan opened his mouth to say something more, to add a more insightful take on what Marie should do, but with Rachel’s warning in his mind, he bit his tongue, “You know maybe we should talk about this later. I really have to…”

“Logan, it’s horrible,” Marie announced throwing her arms up in the air emphatically. She released him and marched over to take a seat on the edge of his bed, “I feel like I’m losing myself completely in not being able to give Bobby the kind of girlfriend he needs in his life. He’s getting tired of me. I can feel it and…”

“No,” Logan sighed realizing that he had no choice, but to ignore the moment he’d wasted years earlier now that it had surrounded him once again. Remembering Marie’s struggle with her identity he knew that his words could ultimately guide her down a path of even more confusion. Taking a seat on the bed beside her he reached out to touch her knee gently, “there’s no way he could get tired of you. You’re an amazing girl Marie.”

“Yeah right,” she groaned, “You’re just saying that because…”

“Because it’s true,” Logan smiled down at her, “You’re a remarkable girl and if Bobby’s too foolish to see it, then it’s his loss.”

“I’m not stupid. I know what he’s wanting, but we both know I can’t give him that,” Marie sighed empathically, “If we aren’t making love, then I’m certain he’ll find someone else out there who will give him what he needs…”

“What he needs is someone special in his life that loves him for who he is,” Logan frowned remembering the path Marie had taken, “Much like you do Marie. Love is something that goes beyond physical at times and…”

“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes at him, “Don’t try to give me the sex means nothing talk because I believe that line about as much as I do the Easter Bunny leaving candy and…”

“I wasn’t going to insult your intelligence by saying that,” Logan sighed thinking about her struggles, “but what I am trying to tell you is that when it’s right everything will work itself out. You have to believe that.”

“Do you?” Marie questioned innocently enough. It prompted Logan to think of his future, to the time he’d lived in before Rachel had sent him back in the hopes of fixing the mistakes of the past.

“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly, “but what I do know is that you shouldn’t change who you are for someone who can’t accept how amazing you can be.”

“Logan please,” a color rose over her pale features, “you’re just saying that because…”

“Because you deserve nothing less than that,” Logan offered up with a small smile, “You’re special Marie. If Bobby can’t see that, then he’s even stupider than he looks.”

“Logan,” she couldn’t help, but smile at his words, “He doesn’t look stupid.”

“I don’t know,” Logan teased nudging her side, “He does look kind of goofy there with that hair and…”

“I think he’s perfect,” she wrinkled her nose at him, “Even if he doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

“Not every guy thinks about sex all the time,” Logan offered up once again, “Sure it feels like a necessity every now and then, but it’s not the only thing that makes a difference in a relationship.”

“I highly doubt you believe that,” she paused before a question formed behind her eyes, “but then again I suppose you’re just telling me that so that I won’t start asking you questions about what you did last night.”

“Excuse me?” Logan blinked back at her.

“Don’t try to pretend that you were alone last night,” she scoffed with a shake of her head, “because I saw the way Scott rushed out of here all disheveled hoping that no one would notice him leaving. I recognized the walk of shame going on with him.”

“You saw him?” Logan’s eyes widened with surprise at the revelation she hadn’t shared with him the first time around.

She nodded, “Everyone knows he spends his nights in here with you. It doesn’t take a genius to see what’s happening with the two of you. After Jean died you both have been…different…”

“Scott’s going through a lot,” Logan offered up hoping to shift the direction of the conversation.

“I know,” she added, “We all have been, but at the same time…I guess I’d just hoped that somehow everything would be like it was before. Everyone is so sad and miserable. Her being gone has affected us all and…”

“I know,” Logan agreed thinking about the mission he had ahead of him. His heart felt heavy when he realized just what Rachel had meant about him wanting to fix things around him. Yes, he’d known Charles was his objective, but now with Marie at his side and Scott on his mind, he couldn’t help, but long for something more than just fulfilling Rachel’s request.

“I just feel like everything’s changing. We’re all different now,” Marie mouthed with sadness overtaking her.

“You’re right kiddo,” Logan agreed pulling her into an embrace, “We sure are.”

\-----------

“There you are,” Storm announced calling out to Logan once he’d made his way into the front foyer after his heart to heart with Marie, “I was wondering if you were going to spend the rest of the day in bed.”

“Have you seen Scott around here?” Logan questioned looking around the school in wonder. As he thought of the time that had passed since he’d last been in the halls he realized a great many things had changed. It wasn’t until he was standing in the middle of everything that he’d found himself pondering all he’d missed after the dream died with Charles.

“Not yet, but I was thinking that you and I could talk about…” she began again much to his dismay.

“What about Chuck?” Logan inquired watching her shake her head dismissively.

“He’s not here,” she explained with a nod, “but I’m sure he’ll be back later. He had some errands to run earlier today that he said couldn’t wait.”

“What errands?” Logan frowned, “Where is he?”

“He’s not here,” Storm reached for his arm, “but you are and right now I really think that we should head on down to the Danger Room where you are going to learn what it means to run things. I know you’ve been shying away from responsibility, but you’re a part of this staff now Logan. You have to make yourself useful with a little bit of everything and…”

“I actually have things to get started on this morning ‘Ro,” Logan began in an attempt to sidestep her mission for him, “I’m sure you can handle it yourself. Danger Room training is a breeze. I know what I’m doing in there and…”

“Not when you have a classroom of students looking for guidance,” she added disapprovingly, “You’ll need to run over a few things with me about technique before we get you in front of a classroom and…”

“I’m not really a classroom kind of guy,” he rolled his shoulders back and groaned, “I’m sure you’ll do just fine without me today. In fact, give me a rain check. I really have to…”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Storm squeezed her fingers into his bicep tighter than before, “Don’t think for a second that I’m going to let you get out of your responsibility Logan. Training is essential for us all and Charles wants you to sit in on this one.”

“What about Scott?” Logan replied.

“I think we can give him a pass this time, don’t you?” her eyes were clouded over with concern for Scott.

“Yeah,” Logan had concluded resigning himself to his fate, “I suppose we can.”

“See there’s the spirit,” Storm encouraged him brightly, “We might be able to make you a team player after all.”

“I wouldn’t bet the farm on that one,” Logan grumbled under his breath upon realizing that his mission for Rachel would have to take a backseat to Storm’s plans for the grueling Danger Room session Logan would just as soon as skip over the second time around. However, in realizing that neither Charles nor Scott had been readily available Logan returned to the old pattern he’d fallen into the first time around in doing what was expected of him with no more questions asked.

\-----------

“I can’t believe she kicked your butt like that,” Marie teased jabbing Logan in the ribs after he’d made his way down to the kitchen to locate the beers he’d kept stashed away for such an occasion. Even though he’d known how his Danger Room training would turn out, he’d remembered Rachel’s warning about trying to follow the same path he’d made the first time around. Granted he’d altered things earlier in the day, but everything else was as to be expected, “That was intense.”

“It was something,” Logan cracked his neck and popped the top off of the beer bottle. Raising it to his lips he took down a long, hearty swig remembering how much he’d enjoyed that particular brand before they’d discontinued it in his future. With a frown he looked at the brown, frosted glass knowing only too well how fast things could change in the blink of an eye.

“I think you’ll have a better day tomorrow,” Marie leaned in closer to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and offered up a small squeeze, “After all we can’t all be at the top of the class the first day.”

“I didn’t realize there would be a class,” Logan mouthed remembering what he’d discussed with Marie the last time he’d been at that place and time. He vaguely recalled her gossiping about something that had happened in one of her history classes, something about her helping Bobby ace his math test and after that, well, he was certain there was something else she’d spoken with him about. Raising his beer to his lips again he prepared to swallow it down and fall into the old pattern when Marie fell to silence. She tipped her head to the side giving him a strange sideways glance when she circled around the counter to take a seat on one of the stools across from him.

“Something’s different with you,” she noted adjusting the sleeve on her pajama top. She arched her neck up meeting his eyes with curiosity upon her lips, “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Logan lied realizing that this hadn’t been part of the natural course of conversation he’d been urged to stay upon, “It was just a long day.”

“Maybe,” she paused before biting down on her lower lip, “but you don’t really have long days. I mean, sure, some days are a bit harder than others, but with the way you heal…”

“I didn’t say I was hurting,” Logan reminded her simply, “Just had a long day.”

“You look as if you’re a million miles away,” she noted reaching out to place her gloved hand over his, “What is it? Scott?”

“Marie,” Logan frowned sliding his hand away from hers. He felt an uneasy sensation coiling down over his shoulders before he looked away from her. He cleared his throat and turned his head to the side, “I think you should worry about your own problems.”

“I do,” she remarked sourly, “so much so that just once I’d like to think about someone other than myself. Call it an epiphany, but I’m trying to be more adult about the decisions in my life. I’m trying to also think about my friends and family and…”

“You’re too young to be carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Logan noted giving her another brief glance, “You should be out enjoying yourself and…”

“…worrying about killing anyone I care about by touching them,” her scowl intensified, “Logan, I do it every day of my life, but right now, well, I just think I want something more. I want to be able to be more than afraid of what I can do. I want to be a friend, a person others can lean on when they’re feeling low and…”

“You’re like a daughter to me,” Logan smiled back at her. He stretched his hand out across the counter to squeeze at her gloved fingers, “I just want you to be happy Marie. I won’t tell you how you have to live your life, but I can’t stress enough how unafraid of what you are you should be. Your powers…they can’t consume you unless you allow them to. I know it might not make sense when I say that, but if you didn’t have them…”

“Life would be normal,” she finished as a frown touched over his lips.

“No,” Logan shook his head firmly, “Marie, you have the power to save lives. You have something special about you that no one else can do. You can make a difference even if it means going about finding other means of normalcy in your life…”

“Now you sound like Jean,” she replied with a small sigh, “She was telling me when we first arrived that I shouldn’t be afraid of what I was. She said that she and Scott had discussed the importance of being who you are with one another before…well, before we lost her.”

“You should always be true to who you are even if who you are isn’t always who you want to be in the moment,” Logan replied thinking about the morning he’d put behind him with Scott. Suddenly the idea of allowing Scott to linger on his own as he had the first time around felt less like the right thing to do even if it was against Rachel’s urgings. Finishing off his beer he set the discarded bottle aside before rising to his feet, “Marie, I hate to do this, but there’s something I need to take care of that…”

“He’s in the Danger Room,” Marie blurted out surprising him with the tone in her voice.

“Who?” Logan wrinkled his nose at her.

“Scott,” she added, “He went down there shortly after we all left. I saw him sneak inside.”

“Thanks,” Logan smiled back at her. He turned around to move to the kitchen door when a thought carried over him, “and Marie?”

“Yes?” she questioned raising her chin up to look at him once again.

“One day you’re going to meet someone who gets it,” Logan decided thinking about the future he’d known Marie had in store for her beyond her teenage feelings for Bobby, “Even if Bobby doesn’t there’s someone out there who knows what you are and can give you what you need. He might be a pain in the ass at times, but when you find him, well, I guarantee your powers will be the least of your concerns.”

“Logan,” she wrinkled her nose at him and laughed, “now who is the one talking fairy tales?”

“Trust me,” Logan winked back at her, “I have an insight on this one. I hope you like Cajun.”

“What?” she questioned as he walked out of the kitchen realizing that despite the misery Marie was in during that moment in time her future would still provide her the opportunity for happiness that so many others would never achieve.

_“Like Scott,”_ a voice inside of his head reminded him when the harsh reality of what would follow the next morning carried over him.

_“You have four days,”_ he could remember Rachel’s words taunting him again and again. They served as a deadline on his mission, but what he hadn’t banked on knowing that day two would be the day that Scott Summers met his ending.

“Tomorrow he’ll be gone and tonight will be the last time I have the opportunity to say that…,” Logan paused remembering the path he and Scott had taken with one another the first time around. Closing his eyes he thought of the way he’d found Scott in the garage after midnight drinking to a stupor only to have Logan pull him back into his bedroom. They’d settled into the bed together followed up with another kissing session that Logan had grudgingly ended before he’d felt guilty about taking advantage of a troubled Scott. After that night the all too brief moments of bliss hadn’t been around to flourish between them because hours later Scott would chart off to Alkali Lake where he’d meet his untimely ending.

“I’m sorry Rachel,” Logan mouthed to himself when he took note of the time. It was a little after nine, which meant Scott hadn’t found his way to the vodka bottle Logan had pried from his hand just yet. Instead he was in the Danger Room attempting to torture himself for what he’d lost in having to be forced to face a life without Jean.

“I can’t just let him walk away without a fight,” Logan decided making his way back to the Danger Room in knowing that his decision would ultimately change everything. Consequences be damned. He was back with Scott and he wasn’t going to let anything steal what little time was left for them to be together.

“Damn it!” Logan heard Scott curse when he entered the Danger Room to discover Scott engaged in a difficult program. He was moving through the room drenched in sweat and anger when Logan watched the man he’d realized he’d missed through the years tearing himself to pieces in order to avoid the inevitable sadness he would face later in the evening. With each movement Scott made he was pushing himself harder than before. His thoughts were secondary to instinct, to brutalizing himself in the Danger Room in ways he wouldn’t be allowed to around the others. 

This Danger Room session was about pain and suffering. It was about feeling something beyond the hurt and the guilt. Scott was torturing himself for what he’d experienced the night before. He’d divulged as much to Logan the first time around in his drunken ramblings. He’d confessed that he’d wanted Logan far more than he’d cared to admit to himself. He’d said that he’d wished like hell they’d thrown caution to the wind because Scott had wanted to feel alive, needed and wanted again. He’d revealed it all the first time around, but Logan had taken a more passive approach in allowing Scott more time to heal. Tonight, however, all the rules had changed.

Taking a step forward Logan realized that Scott had spotted him in the room. It temporarily distracted him when the sentinel program Scott was running had caught him off guard. In an instant Scott flew across the room slamming into the wall with a small groan.

“Scott!” Logan rushed forward calling the program off as Storm had incessantly coached him to do earlier in the day even after he’d explained he understood how it all worked. In an instant the room returned to normal leaving Logan and Scott alone with one another in the darkness.

Scott was on the floor, rolled over onto his stomach when he released a few choice curse words. He stretched his arm out to push himself up onto his knees with a snarl. He cursed again before slamming his fists into the floor and creating a loud thud in the room around them.

“What are you doing Logan? Can’t you see I was in the middle of something?” Scott raised his chin up with a snarl. His lower lip was quivering with rage, his cheeks puffed out from the limits he’d pushed himself beyond in his simulation. His dark hair hung down across his forehead damp, wild and unruly when Logan could smell the fury behind Scott’s movements.

“I’m not going to let you kill yourself in here Scott,” Logan stood up taller watching as Scott pulled himself up to his feet, “You’ll thank me for it later.”

“Leave me alone Logan!” Scott snapped issuing a scowl that would’ve offended Logan under other circumstances, but now with Scott’s face flushed and agitated Logan knew he’d found his opportunity to reach out to him.

“No,” Logan answered defiantly, “whether you like it or not I’m not going anywhere until we talk about things.”

“You want to talk?” Scott let out a pinched laugh, “You of all people want to talk now? Why?”

“Because I don’t like how we left things off this morning,” Logan took a bold step forward, “Because I don’t like the idea of you killing yourself over things that you can’t change.”

“I’m not your problem Logan,” Scott answered defiantly. He spun on his heel preparing to reset the Danger Room program to begin again when Logan sprang forward to seize Scott by the arm.

“I never said you were Scott,” Logan sighed, “but as it stands this isn’t the answer.”

“What do you know about answers?” Scott mouthed turning to look over his shoulder at Logan, “What do you know about anything? All you’ve done since the moment you’ve come to the school is argue and fight with anyone who opposes you. You’ve been rude and inconsiderate and…”

“You know that’s not true,” Logan squeezed his fingers tighter around Scott’s forearm, “because if that was the case you wouldn’t find your way to my bed each and every night.”

“That was a mistake. I see that now,” Scott frowned tilting his head down to avoid Logan’s eyes.

“No,” Logan explained making a bold step towards Scott, “it wasn’t. It’s the furthest from being a mistake Scott. Deep down, you know that.”

“Let go of me Logan!” Scott warned with a snarl.

“You’re only running away from it because you don’t think you deserve to feel anything again. You don’t believe that you should be happy, but the truth is that you do deserve it Scott. Jean wouldn’t want you tearing yourself to pieces and closing yourself down.”

“Don’t tell me what Jean would want. Just because you had a thing for her doesn’t mean that you know her. You have no idea what she and I had together…” Scott tossed back angrily.

“I know enough to see that it wasn’t what you believed it to be. I know you loved her Scott, but right now I need you to talk to me. There are things that I need you to know that…” Logan began only to feel Scott push away from him again. This time Scott unhooked his arm from Logan’s fingers causing him to stagger away from Logan with a grunt.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Scott’s fingers moved up to his visor when he positioned himself in a defensive stance, “This is your last chance Logan. Leave me alone!”

“You wouldn’t dream of it,” Logan puffed his chest out and called Scott’s bluff just in time to be the recipient of the optic blast that Scott sent out at him. It was far from being full force, but it had enough of an impact to send Logan flying into the wall opposite of where he stood.

“I didn’t see that one coming,” Logan mouthed to himself when he sprung up on his heels. He glared at Scott watching Scott puff out another agitated breath. Sliding his arms down to his side Logan instinctively felt his claws coming out of his hands, “It’s going to take a lot more than that to make me go away Slim.”

“We’ll just see about that,” Scott decided blasting at Logan again. This time Logan rolled out of the way before he could be hit by the crimson colored force. He slid across the floor crouching on his knees and preparing to pounce at Scott. The movement sent Scott in the opposite direction avoiding Logan’s attack. He soon sent another blast out at Logan catching Logan’s shoulder before Logan roared.

“You’re going to regret that Scott!” Logan shouted overtaken by instinct and a primitive urge to conquer and dominate the defiant man before him. Springing up on his heels Logan leapt through the air attempting to come crashing down on Scott. In Scott’s haste he’d caused Logan to misjudge his movements sending Logan down face forward on the Danger Room floor.

“Is that the best you’ve got old man?” Scott taunted licking his lips.

“I’m just warming up,” Logan promised raising his head up to meet the challenge head on that Scott had just offered him. 

Soon after, things grew in intensity with both men trying their best to tear the other into pieces. Sweat carried over Logan’s brow, concentration cloaking his intense features when Scott used his knowledge of martial arts to evade each one of Logan’s attempts to neutralize him. Time and time again they engaged in a dance, far from the quiet, comforting moments they’d shared in Logan’s bedroom each night. Instead it became wildly intense and fiercely physical in ways that Logan had forgotten he’d craved. Each move he made was matched by Scott’s speed and agility proving that even in his depression Scott’s skills were still top notch. He’d been renewed by a hidden force, somehow prompted to push Logan to the limit until Logan found an opportunity to gain the upper hand.

“You’re mine now!” Logan announced seizing Scott before he could flee from the situation. He grabbed Scott’s ankle mid-motion taking him down face first on the flooring. He felt Scott struggle, twisting and writhing in an attempt to get away, but it was no use. Logan’s ironclad grip had immobilized him rendering him the loser in their intense battle.

“Like hell,” Scott argued refusing to accept defeat when Logan quickly pushed up over Scott’s body to effectively cage him on the ground beneath Logan’s weight. The movement caused Scott to writhe even harder, bound and determined to make an escape when Logan found himself overtaken by adrenaline.

With Scott pinned beneath him Logan felt himself surrounded by Scott’s rage, by the weight of Scott’s guilt and sadness, but more importantly everything was saturated with overwhelming lust radiating off of Scott’s damp, muscled form. He twisted again beneath Logan in a futile attempt to disengaged himself. His mouth, however, was deliciously curved in such a fashion that his breath escaped in a sharp hiss all giving way to the passion that was burning beneath his perfectly smooth skin.

“Let me go Logan!” Scott warned lowering his voice to a raspy whisper.

“No,” Logan inhaled sharply knowing by instinct alone that Scott’s anger had transformed into something deeper, something far greater than either one of them had anticipated. Shaken by it Scott pushed at Logan’s shoulders, digging his palms into the thick, tensile muscle in a halfhearted attempt to guide Logan off of him. Instead the feel of Scott’s hands upon Logan only fueled the fire of Logan’s years of longing. It reminded him of how close he’d come to having it all before Scott had been stolen from him. There was something irresistible about Scott Summers full, ripe, luscious lips that Logan couldn’t ignore. They’d beckoned him time and time again and this was no different. He could feel the thirst for Scott in his blood, burning deep into his every synapse when he gave into instinct in crushing his lips down over Scott’s mouth without warning.

“Mmmm…” Scott’s sound vibrated against Logan’s lips, warm and surprised before Logan felt Scott’s fingers tangling through his dark, unruly hair. His fingers yanked and pulled with a borderline violent force to coax Logan in closer yet. A whimper rolled between them when Scott’s lips finally parted to invite Logan inside. Immediately Logan was met by the hot, white flame of desire burning him to the core with every wild sweep of Scott’s tongue meeting his in a forbidden dance. With each taste and every touch, Logan found himself met by the animal inside caught up in the thought of consuming all Scott was in that moment.

“God,” Scott breathed shifting beneath Logan again when somehow Logan had rolled onto his back taking Scott over him. At first he’d anticipated Scott punching him before running away again, but Scott remained over Logan kissing him harder than before. His hands were all over Logan, roaming wildly in all the places that Logan had anticipated Scott’s touch time and time again. This time their situation hadn’t been clouded by tears or alcohol, but rather with pure temptation, lust and animal instinct.

In the blink of eye Logan felt Scott’s lips taper off over the base of his throat, his hands scratching at the front Logan’s broad muscular chest. He squeezed at Logan’s white t-shirt, balling it up between his fingers until Logan took the lead in tossing Scott onto the floor beneath him again. This time Logan’s palm stretched out over Scott’s thigh guiding Scott to wrap his leg around Logan’s eager thrusting hips. Even fully clothed there was no denying Logan’s need to mate with Scott, to feel him in all of his intensity again and again.

“Logan,” Scott gasped scratching his neatly trimmed nails down Logan’s spine.

Logan’s tongue traced over the side of Scott’s neck, sliding up behind Scott’s earlobe before moving to the base of his throat. He could feel Scott’s pulse dancing inside of him, pounding out of control when Logan nipped at the skin. It caused Scott to shudder and squeeze Logan harder than before. A moment later Logan’s mouth returned to Scott’s savory lips feeding off of the sweetness that Scott had to offer behind his fire and his rage. After that Logan found himself dizzy in his contemplations, immersed in sensation when Scott’s fingers found their way to Logan’s belt parting it with eager intent. 

“Slim,” Logan pulled back seeing so many things on Scott’s features even behind the visor. His hands were shaky, fingers trembling, but the expression on his face said it all about the need that had overtaken Scott’s sense of guilt and logic.

“Don’t complicate this Logan,” Scott pleaded when Logan’s hand pushed between Scott’s thighs massaging him through the sweatpants he’d been wearing for his workout. The movement caused Scott to shudder gasping for air as if he’d forgotten how to breathe. In an instant their mouths were fused together, each one of them fighting a battle for dominance until finally Logan was on his back again with Scott over him. Logan reached up, squeezing at the waistband of Scott’s sweatpants until they were pushed down over his hips to reveal Scott’s beautifully aroused form. Reaching out Logan squeezed at Scott’s firm bottom wanting to imprint everything about the man above him into his memory from there on out. 

Scott leaned forward collecting Logan’s mouth in another wild, reckless kiss. It was enough motivation for Logan to snarl and shove Scott to the ground again effectively caging Scott beneath him. Logan’s hands pushed at Scott’s pants guiding them down beyond his knees to reveal more of Scott’s pale skin. With each patch of flesh revealed to him Logan deposited kisses over Scott’s body, each one more intimate than the next until Logan returned to Scott naked and ready to pull him out from within meeting Scott’s arousal with the warmth of flesh and desire.

“Future be damned,” Logan confessed reaching for Scott’s thigh to wrap Scott’s leg around him, intimate and inviting as Scott’s fingers squeezed into Logan’s shoulders again guiding him closer for another wild and explicit kiss, “This changes everything Scott.”

“I know,” Scott finally nodded offering up his silent approval in leading Logan to ignore the things that fate had bestowed upon him the first time around. With Summers beneath him willing and ready to give himself to Logan completely it became painfully clear that Logan was about to compromise his mission in more ways than he’d ever anticipated in returning to the life he’d left behind.

\---------

“No!” Scott cried out twisting beneath the blankets in Logan’s bedroom. The sound of his voice caused Logan to awaken with a start realizing that Scott was having another nightmare beside him.

“Scott,” Logan murmured touching Scott’s bare chest when Scott made a small whimpering sound.

“Jean please…” Scott begged caught up in his nocturnal torment long after he and Logan had returned to Logan’s bedroom wrapped up in one another. They’d made love a second time in the center of Logan’s bed taking the time to truly explore one another. It was enough motivation for Logan to savor every second, to hold on to every precious moment with Scott beside him. Everything about their time together had been perfect, ripped out of the pages of Logan’s fantasies about how incredible they would’ve been together had they been given the opportunity to be with one another.

“Hey,” Logan touched Scott’s arm again causing Scott to stiffen beside him. Judging by his breathing Logan could sense Scott was now awake, “you okay?”

“Not really,” Scott divulged in a low, raspy whisper. He twisted his head to the side behind his goggles as Logan felt the weight of Scott’s eyes upon him, “I had that dream again.”

“The one about Jean,” Logan replied watching Scott nod.

“She’s hurting Logan,” Scott trembled turning into Logan when Logan’s thick, muscular arm held him closer. He coaxed Scott to lay upon his chest with the slick dampness of Scott’s skin coating him in Scott’s internal torment, “I could feel her calling to me.”

“Scott,” Logan began feeling the first moment of guilt upon him in remembering what he’d known about the future. Thinking about the morning hours that were inevitably going to follow their time together, Logan squeezed Scott tighter than before, “it’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t feel like nothing Logan,” Scott explained breathlessly, “It’s as if she’s out there begging me to help her. She’s inside of my head Logan. I can feel her and…”

“Scott,” Logan spoke up when another pang of guilt overtook him.

“Why won’t she let me be Logan?” Scott questioned choked up on his emotions, “Why can’t I have this?”

“Scott, I…” Logan found himself at a loss in remembering the way things were supposed to be, “I don’t know…”

“Logan, I’m sorry. I know this is the last thing that we should be talking about right now when…” Scott stopped suddenly aware of the awkward timing in mentioning his former lover in his new lover’s bed.

“It’s alright Scott,” Logan explained touching the side of Scott’s face with his index finger, “I know what she means to you.”

“She was the woman I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with, but now…” Scott’s words tapered off. Instead of finishing he rested his head against the center of Logan’s chest, smoothing his fingers over the dark hair beneath his fingertips, “Maybe it’s just a buildup of everything else that’s been happening.”

“Scott,” Logan attempted to speak up again when he felt the press of Scott’s lips over his skin.

“I’m just not used to…this,” Scott divulged raising his chin up so that he could look down at Logan from behind his glasses, “I’ve never been like this before and…”

“Scott, look,” Logan opened his mouth to say the right words, to tell Scott the truth, but in seeing the smile that carried over the corners of Scott’s mouth he’d lost his nerve.

“I’m glad I didn’t run away tonight,” Scott whispered raising himself up on his elbows, “Everything inside of me told me that if I didn’t give in to my fears that this would happen between us. A part of me was so terrified of what it could mean if we crossed this line, but now…”

“It feels like the most natural thing in the world,” Logan cupped the left side of Scott’s face in his hand, “It’s everything I’d imagined it being.”

“You’re just saying that because I let you have sex with me,” Scott’s face grew flushed with realization behind the words.

“No,” Logan paused, “I mean yes, that’s part of why I’m saying it, but it runs deeper than that Scott. I’d always imagined it would.”

“Logan,” Scott watched him with a weary expression on his face.

“I realize that you don’t understand any of this yet, but I’ve waited so long to have you in my life Scott,” Logan continued in an impassioned tone, “When I was forced to face the idea of a world without you the worst part was the not knowing. The thought of what might have been was all consuming and terrifying in knowing we’ve come so close and yet…”

“I kept pushing you away,” Scott finished with a small smile, “I can see that was a mistake now. Even with my memory of Jean I know that this is where she would want me to be. I think she’d see that…”

“I love you Scott,” Logan blurted out without hesitation.

“You what?” Scott stiffened over him when Logan’s arm curled tighter around his waist.

“I’ve known it for years. I’ve always hated that I wasn’t given the opportunity to tell you before you were gone,” Logan continued feeling a moment of truth upon his lips, “From the first time I saw you I knew there was something about you that got under my skin. At first I thought it was because I welcomed a little alpha male competition, but after a while I knew…I felt the attraction and…”

“So did I,” Scott divulged bashfully, “I tried to ignore the way it made me feel, but…”

“It was always there so strong between us,” Logan reached for Scott’s face again to pull him down into a kiss, “I’m never letting you go Scott. I don’t care what I’m supposed to do. I can’t lose this. I won’t lose you again.”

“I know I’ve been distant Logan,” Scott began when Logan’s arms held onto him tighter, “but I promise I won’t run away tomorrow in the morning like I did today. If that’s what you’re worried about…”

“I’m not worried about you running away,” Logan paused thinking about the things he’d been ordered to do by Rachel when she’d brought him back to save Charles, “It’s just…”

“What’s wrong?” Scott frowned when Logan grew silent, “Logan, what aren’t you telling me?”

“Scott, I tried to tell you earlier, but when I saw you in the Danger Room,” Logan gulped down on his words knowing that they were about to change everything between them, “I was selfish and desperate and…”

“Please don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts about this,” Scott touched the side of Logan’s face. He ran his fingers over the thick, dark hair that covered his jaw line, “because if you tell me this was a mistake, then…”

“No,” Logan added firmly, “this isn’t the mistake, but my not being honest with you about everything before I let this happen is.”

“Honest about what?” Scott questioned when Logan twisted underneath him.

“Scott,” Logan frowned thinking about his mission, “there are things that I haven’t told you. There are situations that…”

“That what?” Scott questioned when Logan forced himself to let go of the man he’d wanted to hold onto forever.

“I’ve seen things. I know things Scott,” Logan gulped down harder, “I was put here with a direct mission in mind. My purpose in being here is…”

“You were thinking about Stryker again, weren’t you?” Scott questioned with concern in his voice, “About what you learned at Alkali Lake about yourself?”

“I’ve thought about that a great many times Scott,” Logan conceded, “so much so that it caused me to question the kind of monster he wanted me to become. He had a purpose for me, but I’d always believed that I’d risen above it. I’ve always tried to do the right thing--to be the kind of man he never would’ve allowed me to be…that is until tonight.”

“I…I don’t understand,” Scott replied when Logan pushed himself up to a seated position on the bed. He ran his fingers through his thick, unruly hair before clearing his throat again.

“Scott, there’s something I need to tell you. I realize that you’re undoubtedly going to think that I’m insane after you hear me out, but it’s the truth,” Logan turned to discover Scott sitting up as well with a concerned expression on his face, “It’s the last thing I want to be telling you especially now, but I need you to know the truth. I can’t lie to you given the way that I feel about this thing happening between us.”

“Okay,” Scott noted reaching out to take Logan’s hand in his, “what is it?”

“Scott,” Logan took in a breath before speaking up, “I’m from the future. I’m still me, but I’m not the man I was yesterday.”

“I see,” Scott couldn’t help, but reveal the beginnings of the smirk that carried over him. He sucked in his cheeks attempting to hide his amusement when he squeezed Logan’s fingers, “So let me guess you saw the future with our being together like this, right? You have a new power that includes you predicting where this will end up for us?”

“No,” Logan clarified with a frown, “I’m from the future Scott. The only future I can see is the one that I’ve lived. It’s not a part of my mutation.”

“The one you’ve lived,” Scott repeated with an air of skepticism in his voice, “I see and what does your ’future’ tell you about the two of us?”

“You’re going to die,” Logan blurted out with a frown.

“What?” Scott frowned when Logan’s words sank in. He tensed up beside Logan and pulled his hand away with a frown, “Logan, why would you say something like that especially now?”

“Because it’s the truth,” Logan reached for Scott again to pull him back onto the center of the bed, “This morning you and I were supposed to get into an argument with one another. You were upset about the way things were between us. Plus with the nightmares you’ve been having about Jean…”

“So what? You’re saying that I’m going to kill myself?” Scott scowled when Logan slid his fingers up against the side of his face.

“No,” Logan hesitated, “Jean’s going to do it.”

“What?” Scott questioned incredulously, “Logan, that’s not possible. You and I both know that Jean’s gone. We watched her die and…”

“She’s still alive,” Logan confessed bracing himself for Scott’s reaction, “A part of her is anyway. She’s at the bottom of Alkali Lake and…”

“No,” Scott shook his head firmly, “that’s not true. We both know that…”

“She’s been calling to you Scott,” Logan added with a painful reminder of Scott’s fate, “Your dreams have been her way of trying to reach out to you. She needs you to strengthen herself before…”

“This is ridiculous Logan,” Scott finally moved off of the bed to place a distance between them, “If you were having second thoughts about us, then just say it. Bringing up my nightmares is just…”

“…too painful to face, but so is the thought of losing you Scott,” Logan sprung up onto his feet to move in closer to where Scott stood by the window, “Believe me if there was any other way to spare you this truth...”

“No. No, no,” Scott shook his head desperately, “Jean’s gone. These nightmares have been a manifestation of the guilt I’m feeling.”

“There’s a part of her that’s attempting to draw you in,” Logan grasped Scott’s shoulders in a tight squeeze, “This morning she’ll try to call you to Alkali Lake. You’ll feel as if you have no choice, but to seek her out and when you do you die.”

“No,” Scott spun around to face Logan again, “that’s not true. Jean’s gone and…”

“She’s going to kill Chuck as well,” Logan blurted out when he remembered the purpose of his return to the past, “After she destroys you, she’s going to destroy him. She won’t be able to help herself because she’s out of control. There’s a part of her that won’t be able to hold back…”

“Why are you saying this Logan?” Scott questioned when worry creased over his brow, “Was there something about what happened with us in the Danger Room that caused you to hit your head harder than you expected and now you’re having wild dreams about…?”

“Jean wasn’t herself before we lost her Scott,” Logan added with a frown, “The nightmares she was having after Liberty Island were escalating. She was on the verge of a breakdown, was she not?”

“I never told you about that,” Scott frowned back at him.

“You didn’t have to,” Logan explained, “The Professor did after we lost you. He told me all about Jean’s childhood and how he tried to put up a wall inside of her to block out the Phoenix. He wanted to help her, but it was too late and…”

“Logan, there’s no way that…” Scott’s words came to an ending when Logan spoke up again.

“I wouldn’t believe me either Scott if I were you, but it’s the truth. A woman named Rachel came to me explaining to me that I had to change things. She said that if I didn’t come back here and save Charles, then our future would be meaningless. She said that our kind would see nothing, but fear and destruction where she is…”

“According to you I have no future,” Scott spoke up with an air of sarcasm in his voice, “After all I die today, right?”

“You did,” Logan nodded when Scott walked away from him again, “but that was before. We did things differently and now that you know we can still…”

“What?” Scott threw his hands up in the air, “What can we do?”

“We change the outcome,” Logan decided standing up taller, “Rachel sent me back to save Chuck, but I know that I can save you as well.”

“How do you propose you can do that? If I’m slated to die…” Scott attempted to argue with him.

“Tell me Jean wasn’t calling for you Scott,” Logan challenged thinking about the dream Scott had lost himself to, “Tell me she hasn’t been torturing you since we lost her. You must’ve felt her pull on you drawing you back in…”

“I already told you about the nightmares,” Scott frowned.

“Yes, you have, but that was before you were made aware of what they were really all about,” Logan added with a tiny shudder, “Today Jean is going to call upon you. She’s going to pull you back to Alkali Lake and when she does…”

“…she’ll kill me,” Scott finished folding his arms in front of his chest.

“I’m not lying about this Scott,” Logan explained desperately, “She’s not herself right now. I’m certain she never meant to hurt you or Chuck, but she did and…”

“Jean’s dead Logan,” Scott argued with him.

“No, she’s not,” Logan paused thinking about the future he’d already faced, “Chuck knows it too.”

“What?” Scott questioned stiffening at Logan’s words.

“Deep down he’s sensed that she’s not really gone,” Logan asserted in remembering what he’d seen with Charles in the future, “There’s always been a part of him that’s wondered about Jean. He’s known about the possibility of what she could become. He’s seen that…”

“Jean can’t be alive Logan,” Scott clenched his fingers at his sides into fists, “She can’t be because if she is and you knew that, then you and I just…”

“Scott,” Logan watched as the color drained from Scott’s features.

“Oh God,” Scott bit down on his lower lip, “you and I just…and you said that you knew that she was still out there and…”

“Scott hey,” Logan moved forward to reach out for Scott’s arm only to feel Scott pull away from him.

“You knew we were betraying what she and I have with one another when you and I made love, but you never said anything,” Scott blurted out with a horrified expression on his face, “You let me give myself to you all the while knowing that Jean is still out there and…”

“I’m sorry Scott,” Logan answered shamefully, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you any of this, but I realized after we were together that I couldn’t lose you. I love you Scott. The idea of living my life without you again terrifies me. I’ve been down that road before and…”

“Nothing,” Scott frowned, “If what you’re saying is true and you really are some future version of yourself, then you must’ve seen that this doesn’t end well. You must’ve known that I would be angry about you not telling me about Jean when…”

“We didn’t do this the last time around,” Logan confessed painfully, “We both wanted to, but you were drunk and I couldn’t take advantage of you considering that…”

“You’re full of shit Logan. You have to be because the alternative is…” Scott choked up on his words, “it’s wrong. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but…”

“I’m telling you the truth Scott,” Logan seized him by his shoulders, “If you don’t believe me, then let’s go talk to Chuck. He can see what’s going on inside of my head. He can tell you the things that I’ve seen and then we can…”

“What?” Scott questioned painfully, “What can we do?”

“We can fix this,” Logan half pleaded with him, “We can save you and Charles and…”

“Jean?” Scott finished with sadness in his voice, “Can we save Jean?”

“I…I don’t know,” Logan admitted thinking about what he’d experienced with her the first time around.

“Did she…?” Scott hesitated, “Does she die as well?”

Logan nodded.

“How?” Scott questioned.

“I killed her,” Logan shuddered at his own words, “She begged me to save her, so I did.”

“You killed her?” Scott replied as Logan could feel the horror in his eyes behind the visor he wore.

“She was hurting people Scott. I had no choice,” Logan divulged guiltily.

“There’s always a choice,” Scott pulled away from him, “You and I both know that there’s always an option where…”

“Not this time,” Logan explained, “Jean’s out of control Scott. She’s going to kill a lot of people in her madness.”

“Including Charles and I,” Scott paused piecing together what Logan was saying to him, “So what? What do you propose we do to change things?”

“I’m already changing things by telling you the truth,” Logan squeezed his arm tightly, “You can’t go to her today Scott. When she’s calling to you, you have to ignore it. You have to stay here and…”

“If Jean’s hurting I can’t leave her out there. She has to be afraid and…” Scott’s words tapered off when it was clear the wheels were turning inside his head, “I have to speak with Charles.”

“Fine,” Logan nodded, “we’ll get dressed and we can go talk to him together.”

“No,” Scott shook his head firmly, “I have to do this on my own. I have to speak to him about all of this and…”

“No Scott. I’m going with you. We have to discuss this together and come up with a way to fix things. If you just take a moment and…” Logan decided with a frown.

“According to you I’m already on borrowed time given that I’m slated to die today,” Scott pointed out with a scowl, “Something tells me that we can’t afford the luxury of a moment.”

“Scott, we still need to talk about this, about us and…” Logan attempted to pull Scott in closer to him.

“We can’t do this now Logan,” Scott answered in a stoic voice, “If Jean’s still out there, then we need to help her. We need to save her from herself if what you say is true.”

\---------

“It’s true,” Charles confirmed the words that Logan had shared with Scott earlier in Logan’s bedroom, “He’s telling you the truth.”

“But how?” Scott questioned looking between Logan and Charles, “How can any of this be possible when we all saw Jean sacrifice herself?”

“It’s very possible Scott,” Charles divulged bringing one hand up behind his neck, “She’s a very powerful mutant. Erik and I knew early on that suppressing all that she was would eventually fail to work for her. In time she would grow stronger and…”

“We have to help her,” Scott blurted out rising to his feet when he looked to the window again, “I say we go out to Alkali Lake and find her. We bring her back home and…”

“No,” Logan argued with him, “you aren’t going anywhere near Alkali Lake today Scott.”

“Logan’s right,” Charles added with a frown, “given that you are her intended target for the day, then it’s best if you stay behind Scott. Logan and Storm can go out there to…”

“No,” Scott argued with Charles, “If Jean’s out there, then I have to help her. I have to find her and…”

“That’s exactly what she wants,” Logan frowned, “Scott she’s going to destroy you if you’re with us. She’s going to kill you.”

“I need to help her,” Scott argued with a shake of his head, “No one else is as connected to her as I am. If there’s still a way to reach her…”

“I’m afraid that doesn’t appear to be an option,” Charles answered poignantly when he turned to Logan again, “Jean’s lost inside of herself and finding her will prove more difficult than any of us anticipated. Even if I try to put the wall up in her mind again…”

“She’s too strong,” Logan concluded remembering what he’d face the first time around, “She’ll fall into the path of destruction and…”

“I’ve seen what you’ve seen Logan,” Charles added sympathetically, “I know the world in which you’ve lived. I can see the desperation in your positioning. Rachel has given us both a glimpse of what is ahead and unfortunately by changing everything it could set off a new course of destiny and…”

“It’s worth it if we can save Jean,” Scott explained desperately, “If she’s out there she needs our help and…”

“Scott, I understand your concern and believe me I will do everything in my power to help her, but,” Charles answered worriedly, “I really don’t believe that you should be with us today. Given the target you have on your back…”

“She needs me Charles,” Scott replied without hesitation, “If she’s in pain, then I have to help her and…”

“If you go there you’ll die,” Logan argued moving in closer to Scott, “I can’t afford to have you at risk. I won’t lose you again Scott.”

“Given all that’s happened I don’t think you’re in a position to be calling the shots with me Logan,” Scott added in a sharp, abrasive tone, “I’m not going to sit around helpless when Jean needs me. If anyone can reach her, it’s me. We all know that.”

“Scott,” Logan frowned when Scott stomped out of the room bound and determined to do things his way.

“There’s no changing his mind Logan,” Charles offered up in consolation, “He’s going to find his own way out there whether we want him to go or not.”

“Chuck, he’ll die if he’s there when we find her. You know as well as I do that…” Logan huffed impatiently.

“Love is a very complicated thing Logan. What our heart desires as we seek out answers within ourselves is far from a simple thing,” Charles replied sympathetically, “We can’t often predict the outcome when…”

“She’s going to kill him,” Logan snarled thinking about what was ahead for Scott, “and even if you don’t think you can do anything to change that I will. I came here with a purpose and reason and I’m not about to lose sight of that.”

“Scott was never in the plan Rachel set out for you,” Charles reminded him simply.

“I don’t believe for a second that you’re willing to sacrifice him either Chuck,” Logan tossed back at him flippantly.

Silence surrounded Logan before Charles finally nodded, “Protect him Logan, but just know that in doing so it will change everything as you know it to be.”

“Even if it’s at the price of my happiness, then so be it if Scott’s alive at the end of the day,” Logan decided realizing that saving Jean would undoubtedly mean that his future with Scott would no longer be a part of the equation for him if he was able to change things.

“Sometimes the greatest of loves comes about with the greatest of sacrifices Logan,” Charles noted as Logan marched over towards the door Scott had exited moments earlier, “Remember that.”

\---------

Tension coiled over Logan’s spine as he sat behind Scott on the jet thinking about the things they were heading into with the flight charting a course to Alkali Lake. After speaking with Charles, Logan found himself thinking more about the meaning of the sacrifice he would have to make in order to keep Scott from falling victim to Jean’s madness. Knowing of the potential danger that lay ahead of Scott, Logan couldn’t help, but find himself on edge when Storm reached out to touch his arm.

“I hope you’re right about this Logan,” Storm added offering up a small squeeze, “because if Jean is still out there, then everything is about to change for us.”

“I know,” Logan mouthed keeping his eyes on the back of Scott’s head. Thinking about the way he’d tried to approach Scott before the jet had taken off, he could already feel a distance between them. Scott hadn’t said more than two words to him as it had become painfully obvious that Scott was angry with Logan for not telling him the truth sooner. The thought in itself plagued Logan with guilt, keeping him wondering if he’d made a mistake in allowing his feelings for Scott to overrule the mission at hand. He was certain he could’ve found a way to save Scott without giving in to temptation, yet remembering the way it felt to have Scott in his arms was worth all the pain he’d inevitably endure along the way.

“We’re about to touch down,” Scott’s voice explained as Logan found himself looking to the haze ahead of them in the sky. It was followed by turbulence when the blackbird began to shake and vibrate, “Storm!”

“I’m not doing it,” she added redirecting her attention to Scott when there was a howling sound of the winds around the jet.

“Can you try to neutralize it?” Scott asked preparing to follow up with another direct order when he suddenly gritted his teeth together. He released the controls on the jet in order to grip his head in agony.

“What’s happening?” Hank questioned as Logan pushed himself out of his seatbelt in order to rush forward only to discover Scott breaking into a series of convulsions behind the safety belt he was in.

“We have to get him out of this! He’s going to choke himself,” Storm gasped horrified by the sight before her when Logan withdrew his claws to slash at the fabric. In an instant, he scooped a shaking Scott into his arms and pulled him back further into the jet.

“It’s her,” Logan noted attempting to help Scott. Storm took over the jet’s controls when Scott’s body continued to shudder and shake. His head flopped to the side, his jaw flexing tighter than before when Logan set him down on the cushion near the back of the jet.

“Scott, you have to listen to me,” Logan touched the side of Scott’s face watching in horror when Scott’s fingers twisted and coiled into the cushion beneath him, “Scott!”

“Jean, don’t…” Scott panted harder when his body flopped on the cushion recklessly against Logan’s hold on him.

“Take this thing down Storm!” Logan ordered with a snarl.

“I’m working on it,” she answered breathlessly when Hank moved in beside Logan.

“Let me take a look at him,” Hank knelt down beside Scott. He reached out to touch Scott’s head only to discover the heat upon his skin, “He’s burning up.”

“It’s Jean,” Logan frowned, “I know she’s out there doing this.”

“Logan, I can’t see anything. It’s too foggy and…” Storm’s words came to a screeching halt when the jet began to spiral and shake. The sounds of metal scraping against metal filled the jet, causing it to seem as though it was ripping apart at the seams until finally they began to descend through the haze faster with each passing second.

“Damn it! Do something!” Logan felt his stomach leap up into his chest, his mind running wild with fear when finally the jet crash landed sending Hank across the interior. Logan watched Hank slam into a wall opposite of where Logan held Scott in his arms, refusing to let go of him until they’d touched down to safety.

“Is everyone alright?” Storm questioned pulling her head up when it was clear they’d hit the ground.

“I’ll survive,” Hank piped in from his positioning.

“What about Scott?” Storm inquired.

“He’s still with us,” Logan answered touching the side of Scott’s face. He could see the fight taking place inside of Scott pulling him from consciousness to a state of confusion with Jean inside of his head tormenting and taunting him in the ways that Logan had hoped to avoid.

“We have to find her now!” Logan announced turning around to look at the others, “We have to end this.”

“Fine. Storm and I will go out there and…” Hank decided pulling himself up off of the ground.

“No,” Logan shook his head firmly, “I’ll do this. I know what I need to do and…”

“Logan, it’s too dangerous. If you go out there, then…” Storm began with a frown.

“We’ve done this once before,” Logan explained stiffening when he turned his attention to Scott. A pang hit him in the center of his chest watching as Scott seemed to relax against the cushion. His mouth was still gasping for breath, fighting for oxygen as though he was a fish out of water with Jean’s influence, “We have to stop this.”

“I know we do,” Storm nodded when Hank moved in beside Scott.

“Keep him safe,” Logan pleaded with the man at Scott’s side, “No matter what happens…”

“You have my word,” Hank promised as Logan turned his attention to the door leading out of the jet into a world where he was uncertain of what would follow.

Stepping forward Logan moved down the ramp of the jet only to discover the thick, dense fog that surrounded him. It was an eerie reminder of what he’d faced the first time around when he and Storm had come to Alkali Lake in search of Scott. However, this time Scott was in the jet with Hank away from Jean’s madness as Logan felt his blood run cold. He moved forward listening to the sound of the gravel crunch beneath his feet when Storm moved to his side.

“You said we’ve done this before, right?” she questioned wearily when she surveyed the area around them, “How did it turn out?”

“Not good,” Logan took in a breath searching the air for the scent of the woman he’d once coveted. Even now in remembering the way she’d haunted his dreams for years beyond this point in time, he couldn’t help, but wonder what he would discover. Jean had been practically catatonic when they’d first encountered her after she’d destroyed Scott, but this time she hadn’t been given the opportunity to take him under. This time she would be undoubtedly looking for some other source of pleasure and torment when Logan’s claws extended from his hands.

“Do you really think that’s necessary?” Storm inquired with the beginnings of a frown, “This is Jean we’re looking for.”

“She ain’t Jeanie any longer,” Logan stepped out further into the fog knowing only too well that everything was riding on the outcome of the day ahead of him. He’d already played a hand in changing things, but now with the threat of Scott losing his life at the front of Logan’s mind, Logan found himself possessed by a newfound determination.

“You have no idea what you’ll be getting yourself into Logan,” he could almost hear his conscience calling to him, reminding him of the path Rachel had instructed him to take. He’d wanted to listen, to do things as she’d explained, but in being around Scott that hadn’t been an option. He’d needed to save Scott and Charles before it was too late. Losing the both of them had changed his life and…

His thoughts were brought to an abrupt ending when Logan felt the weight of a force picking him up off of the ground and slamming him into the wall of stone across the ravine. He crashed into a jagged piece of rock tearing at his forearm when he raised his chin up to discover Jean floating in the air before him looking even more lost inside of herself than he’d anticipated the first time around.

“I knew sooner or later you’d come to me,” she laughed wildly, her eyes a dark shade of black when she sent Logan flying down to the ground, “Always the white knight, aren’t you Logan?”

“Jean,” Storm rushed forward preparing to reach out to her when Jean’s venomous stare was redirected at the woman she’d once considered her closest friend. In an instant Storm followed a similar path as Logan did heading directly to the raging water only to be immersed beneath it in the blink of an eye.

“No!” Logan pulled himself up off of the ground rushing forward when Jean redirected her attention to him again.

“Did you really think that you could come here and take me under Logan?” Jean questioned in a low, dull hiss, “Did you really believe that after everything you were able to come back here and get your happy ending?”

“What?” Logan blinked back at her only to feel the grip of invisible hands upon his throat. He reached out to the intangible gripping fingers attempting to pry them off of his flesh with each gasp of a breath he took.

“You can’t have this! You won’t win,” her voice roared causing a fire to explode inside him with each tightening twist around his neck.

“No!” Logan roared bringing his claws out to slash at the force upon him, to fight for oxygen. 

To his left there was a sound from the water indicating that Storm had emerged from its dark depths. Her eyes were white when she raised her head to the heavens causing the sky to open up just over where Jean was before him. A moment later lightning struck down upon Jean barely making an impact upon her when Jean’s wicked smirk twisted with amusement.

“Is that the best you have Ororo?” Jean questioned stretching her hand out to collect the bolt of lightning within her grasp. She swirled it around in her palm before sending it back in Storm’s direction with a sneer, “It’s going to take a lot more than that to take me under.”

“Jean, no!” Hank’s voice rose above the thunder when Logan watched his friend charging at Jean in a primal rage. His efforts were futile when she dismissed him almost as quickly as she’d dismissed Storm.

“Really, do you think you can change anything?” Jean questioned more amused than anything when Scott stood at the foot of the jet’s ramp with determination carrying over his jaw.

“Stop it Jean!” Scott shouted causing Logan to look in horror when the man he loved move through the fog bound and determined to reach out to her, “Jean!”

“Scott,” his name rolled off of her lips when it was clear she’d sensed a challenge in the air. She lowered herself to the ground, her eyes focused on him when she walked across the gravel.

“Jean, you have to stop this,” Scott half pleaded with her. He held his hand out to her, hoping to reach her in her madness, “You can’t hurt them. They’re our friends.”

“No,” she shook her head and sobbed, “They left me here to die Scott. They all believed I was gone.”

“We didn’t know,” Scott closed the gap between them. He offered his hand to her once again, “If we had any idea, then we wouldn’t have left you behind. We didn’t want to.”

“But you did…” Jean’s eyes narrowed in at Scott turning blacker than they’d been moments earlier. Her crimson colored lips sneered when she reached out to Scott seizing him by the back of his head to draw him in closer to her, “and now you all will have to pay!”

“No!” Logan shouted finding the strength to pull him up off of the ground when Jean pulled Scott into a kiss. In an instant Logan watched Scott’s skin start to bubble and roll with movement indicating what was to follow when Logan’s claws tore through the fog, sharp and decisive when he nudged Scott aside in order to send them directly into Jean’s abdomen hoping to prevent her from taking Scott under.

“You fool!” Jean snarled discarding thoughts of Scott when she levitated herself off of the ground taking Logan with her. As she reached down to pull at his wrists keeping a tight grip on his hands when her black eyes seemed to burn through him, “Did you really believe that you could stop The Phoenix?”

“Jeanie,” Logan spoke her name feeling her pull him up higher until she ultimately reached down with invisible fingers to tear his claws out from her heated flesh. There was an orange glow around her, building and expanding until she released her hold on his wrists effectively sending him down to the ground again.

“No!” Logan shouted watching as her wounds healed and he found himself helpless in his quest to end things. Everything he thought he’d known about ending Jean’s madness proved to no longer be a viable option with her hovering over him preparing to give herself completely to the darkness.

“Did you really think that you could finish this Logan? That you could be the one to bring me to my ultimate ending?” she questioned when the light around her expanded bringing with it a white, hot flame. She lowered herself to stand at his feet with black eyes and coldness in her tone, “You’re nothing Logan and soon I will make you understand that.”

Logan opened his mouth to speak preparing to launch an assault on her when fire consumed him. It tore at his flesh, ripping away at skin and muscle when her laughter surrounded him. Her eyes were no longer human, devoid of any real emotion as Logan struggled to pick himself up off of the ground. With each movement he made she fought back twice as hard, ripping his flesh apart until he could see bone on his arm, over his ribs.

“You can’t win!” she sneered throwing out more power at him in her quest to bring about his ending. He fell to his knees held down by her force when flames licked over his body burning away the essence of what he was, “Not even your healing factor can save you from burning Logan!”

“No!” Scott shouted as Logan heard the sound of racing footsteps approaching. He raised his head up to discover Scott at Jean’s side reaching out to her desperately, “Don’t do this Jean! This isn’t who you are.”

“Jean is gone,” she replied in a low, hollow breath, “She’s dead.”

“No, I don’t believe that,” Scott appealed to her once again, “Jean please…”

“No!” she shouted releasing her hold on Logan and turning to Scott, “You can’t have her. She’s gone.”

“No, you’re wrong,” Scott moved in closer to her, “I know you’re in there Jean. Please, let me help you.”

“You can’t help me,” Jean’s voice wavered when she redirected her rage to Logan again. She sent out another fiery blast, ripping him apart from the outside all over again, “It’s too late.”

“No,” Scott replied pushing through the flames that surrounded her to reach for her arm. The movement seemed to surprise her as Scott’s fingers coiled around her wrist tighter than before, “Jean look at me.”

“It’s too late Scott,” her voice was cracking.

“No, it isn’t,” Scott pleaded with her, “You don’t want to hurt him. I know that. I know that’s not you.”

“You know nothing about what I am,” Jean tipped her head to the side to look at him through her madness.

“Yes, I do. You’re the girl I fell in love with,” Scott attempted to appeal to her, “You’re the first girl I kissed. You’re the first person who ever made me feel unafraid to be who I am.”

“No,” she shook her head as tears slipped past her cheek, “Jean is gone. She’s…”

“She’s still in there,” Scott stretched his arm out to touch the side of her face, “Jean, look at me.”

“Don’t,” she hissed sending another flame licking over Logan’s body once again. This time the force caused him to fall to the ground surprised by the power Jean suddenly had over him.

“Please,” Scott begged of her, “Don’t hurt him. Jean, stop.”

“Why should I?” Jean questioned in a voice devoid of any sign of the woman they’d once loved.

“Because I need him. Jean, I love him,” Scott appealed to her as Logan found himself freed from the flames again. This time he could smell his charred flesh, slowly working to repair itself. His eyelid had been burned shut on his right eye leaving him only a skewed view from the left when he watched Scott interact with Jean.

“You…you love him?” Jean questioned when the flames around her began to taper off, “You’re in love with him?”

Scott nodded, “I am.”

“But…” Jean staggered when Scott’s fingers pushed into her auburn colored hair, “I thought you loved me…”

“I do love you Jean,” Scott appealed to her tenderly, “I love both of you. Please, let me help you. Let me bring you back with us.”

“It’s too late,” she explained tearfully, “Scott, I can’t stop this.”

“Yes, you can. I believe in you. I believe that you can end this,” Scott spoke up gently, “You just have to try.”

“The Phoenix is about destruction and rebirth. She wants to destroy everything,” Jean gasped in realization, “She wants to destroy Logan and…you.”

“Fight her Jean,” Scott pleaded with her, “Stop her from doing this and…”

“I can’t,” she sobbed reaching out to touch Scott’s face, “She’s too strong…”

“Jean,” Scott opened his mouth to say something more when she shook beside him.

“Kill me Scott!” she begged of him, “Please…”

“No, Jean no…” Scott choked up on his words as Logan felt his flesh reforming. He was able to open his eye again. His fingers regained motion when he watched Scott pull Jean into his arms.

“Kill me or…die,” Jean sneered when her eyes turned black again. The air was suddenly filled with rage and violence when she pulled Scott into the air with her, high up in the clouds away from the others.

“No!” Logan shouted feeling helpless to do anything when the sky above them shifted with darkness. Clouds rumbled overhead, turning from gray to black followed by a burst of light when rain poured down upon them.

“What’s happening?” Storm questioned staggering over to Logan on the gravel.

“I don’t know…I…” Logan’s words were brought to an abrupt halt when explosions carried over the sky followed by a blinding light. It was the last thing he remembered before his world fell to blackness.

\--------

“Logan, can you hear me?” Logan heard Storm’s voice pulling him from his sleep. With a gasp he opened his eyes struggling to fight for air when he realized he was back at the school, laid out inside of one of the medical wings. Suddenly everything about what he’d experienced came to him when he sat upright with a jolt.

“Scott!” Logan breathed thinking about what he’d witnessed at Alkali Lake, “Where’s Scott?”

“Logan, you need to take it easy,” Hank’s words attempted to soothe him, but it was no use when Logan found himself meeting the concerned eyes of his friend, “You’ve had quite an ordeal. You’ve been out of consciousness for the last two days.”

“Two days?” Logan questioned in a panic, “How did I get here?”

“We had a hell of a time bringing you back,” Hank noted with a shake of his head, “For a while there it was touch and go…”

“Back,” Logan began thinking about what Hank had said to him, “I’ve been asleep for two days?”

“Don’t think you didn’t scare the hell out of us,” Storm noted with a sigh, “We were all hoping that you would be okay. Charles kept telling us that it should pass and…”

“Chuck’s alive,” Logan breathed a sigh of relief.

“Of course he is,” Hank added moving in to check Logan’s vitals, “He’s been down here visiting you himself, but he had to go upstairs for a while and…”

“Jean,” Logan half questioned turning to Storm, “What about Jean?”

“She didn’t make it,” Storm admitted painfully, “We thought that she would come around, but after what she did to you…”

“Jean did this,” Logan pushed himself up on his elbows. Looking around the school he thought about the confrontation he’d experienced with Jean when his mind returned to the man he’d been concerned about, “What about Scott?”

“All things considered he’s doing better than I’d anticipated,” Hank divulged with heaviness in his voice, “For a while I wasn’t sure what would happen, but with Rachel around…”

“Rachel?” Logan questioned raising a curious brow when Storm’s lips creased in an uneasy expression, “She’s here?”

Storm nodded, “She’s with Scott upstairs in the…”

Her words were lost as Logan sprung up off of the bed. He made his way to where Scott was in following his scent alone. Within a matter of moments he found himself standing at the door to a makeshift nursery that had been decorated in pink. At the far end of the room was a crib where Scott stood looking down at something inside of it. 

Saying nothing Logan moved forward unable to believe what he was seeing when he reached out to squeeze his fingers over Scott’s shoulder. Silently Scott stood motionless keeping his eyes on the crib before him. Logan followed his gaze only to discover a tiny, auburn haired child within the pink blankets.

“Jean wanted me to save her future,” Scott explained not bothering to turn back when his fingers moved up to grip at Logan’s upon him. He kept their hands interlaced when a sigh carried over his lips, “Jean wanted to save her as well, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Scott,” Logan felt an ache overtake him in sensing Scott’s sadness.

“Jean killed herself to protect all of us from Phoenix,” Scott replied in a low, rumble of a whisper, “When we were together she knew that we were running out of time. She only had a few seconds to let me see what she wanted me to see Logan. When we were up in the air together…”

“Scott,” Logan spoke his name while bringing his arm around Scott’s slender waist.

“She told me about Rachel,” Scott choked up on his words, “about our daughter that Stryker’s people had stolen from us after we’d left Jean behind.”

“Rachel’s your…” Logan’s words tapered off when he looked to the peacefully sleeping child in the crib.

“All this time Jean was fighting to get back to her. She wouldn’t have had a chance if it wasn’t for Jean showing me how to find her,” Scott continued lost inside of himself with his words, “After she took me with her she gave me what I needed to save Rachel before Jean sacrificed herself. She wanted me to find Rachel. Jean said I would know what to do without her, but now…Logan, how am I going to be a father? How can I explain to Rachel what her mother did or what’s become of her?”

“Scott…” Logan found himself at a loss when he thought to the reason he’d returned to the past to begin with.

“When Jean attacked you I thought I’d lost you, that I’d be forced to spend the rest of my life without you Logan,” Scott confessed turning around to face Logan fully. His face was paler than usual, but it was the uncharacteristic track of tears that slipped past down his cheek that caused Logan to reach out and pull him into an embrace, “I couldn’t imagine being without you Logan.”

“You won’t have to be,” Logan hugged him tighter than before. Looking over Scott’s shoulder he watched as Rachel twisted on her blankets opening her eyes to reveal their green depths before him. In an instant he thought back to the familiarity he’d felt with the woman who had requested the task of him, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know that,” Scott nodded arching back just enough to meet Logan’s gaze behind his visor, “and even though Jean lost herself to madness for a few brief seconds she told me that she understood. She said that she wanted for us to be happy even if it meant being in a world without her.”

“Scott,” Logan watched as Scott’s lower lip quivered once again.

“I can’t imagine how a world without her could ever be right,” Scott buried his head on Logan’s shoulder when tears consumed him, “I never wanted to be without either one of you Logan.”

“I know you didn’t,” Logan noted as Rachel smiled up at him from within her crib, “but right now we have to think beyond our misery to what really matters.”

Rachel made a small sound alerting Scott to her awakening. Almost immediately Scott stood up taller, turning around to focus on the little girl before him.

“I know that,” Scott agreed reaching down to pull Rachel into his arms in an embrace, “I just hope that I don’t let her down Logan. Without Jean there’s so much that I have to make up for and…”

“She understands Scott,” Logan smiled down at the child in Scott’s arm, “and she’ll love and admire both you and Jean for your sacrifices. She knows how special the both of you are.”

“She’s the special one,” Scott kissed the top of his daughter’s head, “and if it wasn’t for Jean sending me to find her…”

“…then everything would’ve turned out very different,” Logan finished thinking about Rachel’s request to send him back to save Charles. Beyond that initial request Logan couldn’t help, but wonder if Rachel had realized that Logan would rebel--that he would find a way to reach Scott against the odds and save him.

_“It was my understanding that you were the one thing that pulled my father through the most difficult point in his life. There was a time when he found himself faithless and you pulled him through his darkest hour. Without you he would’ve been lost and my mother, well, let’s just say that in my dreams she’s told me about how you saved the both of them,” Rachel’s words echoed in his mind, “She said if it hadn’t been for you, then it would have fallen apart years before they’d met their demise. In my dreams she tells me about the sacrifices you made--about the way that you’d protected my father when he most needed you. You saved his life more than you ever realized…”_

“Logan, I just don’t know where we go from here,” Scott’s words pulled through his thoughts when Logan looked down to the beautiful child in Scott’s arms.

“I don’t either Scott, but what I do know is that somehow, some way we’ll get through this together,” Logan promised reaching out to offer Rachel his finger now that it was perfectly clear things had changed in ways he hadn’t ever anticipated. With Scott in his arms and Rachel in their lives he found himself filled with hope that maybe just maybe the future would be brighter for all of them after all.


End file.
